DARREN MONCRIEFF
Tuesday 31 July 2012
IT'S not all glamour and glitz at AFL level football -- for players battling to overcome long-term injury, their frustration would be compounded by pressure and uncertainty.
Currently, the 18 AFL clubs have a combined total of 142 players unavailable through injury. These range from short-term complaints to season-ending concerns. On average, that's almost 16 players per club.
Among those are several Indigenous players.
Perhaps the most frustrated right now would be Melbourne pair Jamie Bennell and Aaron Davey, Brisbane veteran Ash McGrath, and Geelong's Travis Varcoe.
The Indigenous quartet has either had their season's completely ruled out or face an uphill battle to make back on to the field.
Bennell, 22, was six games into making steady inroads into becoming a regular selection for the Demons before coming down badly from a marking contest against Fremantle.
The resultant injury was an ACL tear which required season-ending surgery.
Bennell has played 57 games for the Demons since making his debut in Round 1 in 2009. The match was just his sixth this season, having spent most of the season playing with VFL club Casey Scorpions.
Team-mate Aaron Davey's topsy-turvy season was declared over when general soreness in his foot revelaed to be a fracture in July. That was after a match with the Scorpions, the Demons' VFL affiliate club. Davey's injury was compounded by poor form that saw him dropped from the senior side twice earlier this year.
GONE FOR THE YEAR: Clockwise from top...Ash McGrath (Brisbane), Jamie Bennell (Melbourne), Aaron Davey (Melbourne) and Andrew Krakouer (Collingwood).
Geelong speedster Travis Varcoe was placed in the club's "indefinite" timeframe injury list with the 24-year-old in recovery from footy surgery. That procedure was the second one this season after having undergone an earlier operation in the pre-season.
From a purely team leadership point of view, Ash McGrath's loss to Brisbane hurt the most. McGrath is a top-shelf competitor whose absence has robbed the Lions of a key link in their attack and defence. The Lions are in a transition phase and they need all the experienced and old heads together. While they have shown glimpses this season, with players of the calibre of McGrath out injured has hurt them.
Carlton is just hanging on and in touch with the eight so the return of classy midfielder Andrew Walker couldn't come soon enough. A priority selection in the 2003 AFL national draft, Walker suffered a calf complaint that's kept him out for the past fortnight and looks unlikely return until another three to four weeks.
It wouldn't hurt Collingwood to have the skills of Andrew Krakouer come September but the clever forward's 2012 plans remains unclear. There are reports of Krakouer returning to action within the next two weeks, which would be a welcome boost for the 29-year-old West Australian. He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season practice match in February and was expected to miss the entire 2012 season.
Concerns are also being raised as to the fitness of Hawks spearhead Lance Franklin, who is set to miss his fourth week of football with a hamstring complaint.
Fremantle's Antoni Grover, Essendon's Patrick Ryder, and West Coast's Josh Hill all face fitness tests to be in contention for selection.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 31/07/2012 11:58