NICK Hind has spoken publicly for the first time since attending a COVID exposure site that kept him out of Essendon\u2019s elimination final against the Bulldogs two weekends ago.<\/p>\n
Hind was unable to travel with teammates to Tasmania after being notified on Wednesday night that he had attended an exposure site the previous Saturday and had been identified as a tier two contact.<\/p>\n
The rebounding defender underwent a COVID test on Thursday morning and received the all clear five hours later, however under Tasmanian rules for the AFL was unable to enter the state.<\/p>\n
Hind revealed it was just a quick visit for a popular lunch food that had cost him his spot in the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just snuck into the supermarket to get a roast chicken; I was in there for two minutes. It hadn\u2019t been a hotspot yet and it was the only one in my area I could get to,\u201d Hind told SEN Breakfast<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cHindsight going back, I wouldn\u2019t have gone to the supermarket at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his disappointment, Hind was still able to get around his teammates and see the bigger picture.<\/p>\n \u201cInitially [I just felt] shock, but I quickly tried to turn my attention to the boys and was quite confident they could get the job done without me over there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t meant to be, but I knew that the general public and everyone has been doing it pretty tough over here, so I didn\u2019t sook and just tried to move on and be the best teammate I could for the boys.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping they\u2019d get the job done\u2026 and I could join them the week after.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I was very disappointed it was quite tough watching the game on the weekend but there\u2019s a lot of people doping it tough over here, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite a strong first half, Hind\u2019s teammates couldn\u2019t go on when it counted and eventually fell to the Bulldogs by 49 points.<\/p>\n After spending time on Essendon’s VFL list and then a year long stint at St Kilda last season, 2021 has been a breakout year for Hind who has averaged career high numbers as a running half back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n