AT 19 years of age, West Footscray’s Daniel Burnett was ready to give football away.

Suffering from tendonitis in both knees Burnett had all but retired from the game after a career with Sunbury in the Ballarat Football League.

But when his coach Tony Liberatore left for the Roosters’ nest in the Western Region Football League (WRFL), Burnett followed.

“I wasn’t going to play because I was injured and Libba rang me up a couple of times and I thought why not give it a go,” he said.

It was a long road to recovery though, with a five month stint of rehab required to get the teenager’s body back on track.

“I did a lot of strengthening in the glutes and quads, a lot of gym work in the legs and physio exercises.”

In fact, Burnett went through eight physiotherapists, osteopaths and the like before finding the Western Bulldogs physio Susie Cautley who he largely credits with his recovery.

The comeback has been positive, with Burnett featuring in the best for the Roosters in four out of five games this season.

“I am doing really well, I haven’t felt this good in years,” he said.

“I am pretty happy with how I started considering I had no pre-season.

“I really like it (The WRFL), the team is really good at West Footscray.

“I love Libba as a coach. I am more of a running player and he really encourages me to take the game on.”

Liberatore said it was Burnett’s willingness to push his limits that made him a quality player.

“He’s a young kid who shows a lot of potential,” he said.

“A really hard, very honest player. He is very capable … he never gives in.”

The former AFL champion uses Burnett through the centre to speed up the Roosters mid-field but sitting at four losses and one win, both agreed it had been a rough start to the 2009 season.

“It has been a bit average. A lot of improvement can be done,” Burnett said.

“But the results if you look at them … we are a lot better than it shows.”

On Saturday, the Roosters took on St Albans in a what looked to be a competitive clash on paper but the Saints finally showed glimpses of the form that took them to the finals in 2008 with a 100 point victory, the final score 26.14.170 to 10.10.70.

The Saints got out to an early 15-point lead but the Roosters were still in the hunt.

The second quarter was where it slipped away though as the Saints piled on five goals to three to extend the margin.

The third and fourth terms were coloured red and blue as the Saints peppered the goals to blow out the final score.

Jarrad Lynch was best on ground for the Roosters, with Jason King kicking three goals to top score.

For the Saints, Michael Spooner kicked his biggest bag of the year with eight for the match while Tim Jenkins earned best on ground.

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In other matches, Sunshine Heights went down to Spotswood by 130 points. Jye orchard kicked six for the Woodsmen.

Albion was too strong for Altona, with Shaydon Bloomfield booting four for the match.

Hoppers Crossing and Port Melbourne Colts played out a low-scoring competitive clash with the Colts coming out on top by a goal.

Steve McAnulty starred with six majors. Sunshine thumped Glen Orden with Ben Foley leading the charge kicking five goals.

In Division Two, Parkside beat Braybrook, Wyndham Vale Falcons got up by a goal against Coburg Districts, Deer Park beat North Footscray, Albanvale were too good for Laverton and Yarraville-Seddon thumped North Sunshine.