Nowhere to hide for Woods

Looking back on Port's year of pain

Dale Thomas and Tyson Goldsack box at Gosch's Paddock. Picture: Klein Michael Source: Herald Sun

IF THE handful of Collingwood players who did not make the training trip to Utah thought they could escape a fortnight of hard work, they were mistaken.

Nick Maxwell and Alan Didak stayed home for the birth of their children; Alan Toovey was recovering from a wrist injury; and Dale Thomas and Tyson Goldsack were on the way back from ankle surgery.

The quintet were joined by four players selected in the rookie draft.

"There's almost one coach to every player so there's nowhere to hide for anyone ... it's been a pretty good training block," Maxwell said.

He said it hadn't been tough to stay disciplined at training.

"If you're working amongst 40 guys it's easier to hide," the 29-year-old said.

"But the way we've been working has been good and from all the reports coming back they've been really happy with how the boys were training in Utah as well." 

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Sun shines bright for Bock

Gold Coast Suns defender Nathan Bock participates in a light pool session with his teammates. Picture: Brendan Radke Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

GOLD Coast vice-captain Nathan Bock has opened up about his year from hell, after waving 2012 away with a sense of relief.

Plenty of people welcomed in the new year with a sense of excitement last night but none more than Bock, who declared 2012 the toughest year he's had in footy.

It started with a two-week suspension stemming from a betting scandal the year before but the worst was yet to come as a broken leg and the jailing of his mother, Michelle Joy Bock, for drug trafficking, wrecked his season on and off the field.

The 29-year-old was candid about his year from hell, conceding the off-field issues with his mother took their toll.

"I'm happy to put this year in the back of the mind and concentrate on 2013,'' Bock said. "It was obviously pretty draining and it was frustrating at the start of the season to miss those two games because of the suspension.

"Then I felt like it took me a few weeks to get into form and the game I really felt the best was the one against Fremantle when I ended up breaking my leg.

"Then obviously the stuff with mum had been dragging on for a little while as well and the year was mentally quite challenging and physically very challenging.

"It was probably the toughest year I've had in footy.''

The former Crows defender is looking on the bright side though and believes his leg injury may even help extend his AFL career.

"That's one thought Bluey (Guy McKenna) has and it would be nice to play for as long as I possibly could,'' Bock said.

"I suppose you've got to look at all the positives and (the time I spent out) most of last season potentially could be put on the end of my career.

"I'll be 30 (this) year and most guys say if you can play until you are 32 or 33 then that is a great result.''

And the early signs in Bock's comeback are positive.

The veteran is a month ahead of schedule in his rehab and even began running last month.

"Initially I hadn't planned to start running until about Christmas but I've been running for about four or five weeks now,'' Bock said.

"Initially it just started with a five-minute jog on the AlterG treadmill, which takes a percentage of your body weight away when you run.

"I was building up on that for a few weeks and then just recently I had a couple of runs outside.

"But it's only been a few strides and it's still only a very slow jog.''

With his progress in mind, Bock is hopeful of joining the Suns' main training group by mid-February.

And the versatile tall still holds hope of striding out on to  Metricon Stadium in the Suns' season opener against St Kilda on March 30.

"I saw the surgeon just before Christmas and he was happy with the progress we're making,'' Bock added.

"I would like to think Round 1 is a realistic possibility but we will just have to play it by ear.

"You have a bit of a time frame to when you are back training at full intensity with injuries like an ACL.

"But this injury is a lot different and it just depends on how it feels and how it is progressing.''

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Suns gun awaits his fate

Harley Bennell during a Gold Coast Suns recovery session at Kurrawa beach, Broadbeach. Picture: Brendan Radke Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

GOLD Coast youngster Harley Bennell has saved himself from a severe club penalty after a night out with friends in Western Australia turned ugly.

Bennell was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and failure to obey an order given by a police officer after a large New Year's melee in his hometown of Mandurah, south of Perth.

He will front court on January 15.

The Suns will convene a meeting of the senior administrators and leadership group to determine if Bennell will get a club sanction once he has faced court.

However, the blow for officials has been softened by a phone call Bennell made to Suns football manager Marcus Ashcroft, who is holidaying in Hawaii.

Bennell immediately alerted Ashcroft to the incident and issued an apology for his actions.

Twelve months ago, the former No.2 draft pick would have switched his phone off and gone to ground.

The last time he found himself in a minor spot of trouble back in Perth, when he was present at the scene of a misdemeanour, he did not contact the club and when they tracked him down he only released details that had already been made public.

But this time he has been in regular contact with Ashcroft and other administrators and the Suns are confident he provided full disclosure of events.

The 20-year-old was with friends when a series of fights broke out when nightclubs shut, sending hundreds of revellers into the nearby Smart St mall, where police were called at around 2.15am.

Bennell was arrested and taken to Mandurah police station, where he was charged and released on bail.
The Suns released a brief statement confirming the incident.

"As this is a police matter the club is not in a position to make further comment," the statement said.

Friends of the footballer said he had been trying to break up the fight.

Bennell has played 36 matches for the Suns since being recruited from Perth club Peel Thunder in the 2010 national draft.

He is the second WA-bred player to get into trouble at home during the off-season break.

Young Collingwood midfielder Marley Williams was charged with assault after an incident in Albany last week that left a man with a broken jaw.

- with Stivan Pucar

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Dees wait to face music

Looking back on Port's year of pain

Melbourne forward Jeremy Howe drinks a beer at the MCG on Boxing Day before being asked to leave by security staff. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Former Melbourne player Jared Rivers (white t-shirt and sunglasses), who is now with Geelong, has to be restrained after being told to leave by security and the police. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: Herald Sun

Richmond player Ricky Petterd is photographed throwing an empty plastic cup while at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test. Source: Herald Sun

Dom Barry leads James Magner and Tom Couch. Picture: Ian Currie Source: Herald Sun

MELBOURNE players asked to leave the Boxing Day test last week will face the Demons' coaching staff next week.

The Dees' first and second-year players returned to training this morning after some time off for Christmas.

But the trio who spent a boozy day in the rowdy Bay 13 section of the MCG - James Frawley, Lynden Dunn and rising star Jeremy Howe - will return to training on Monday.

The three Dees drew the attention of security and were asked to leave the ground after clashing with fellow spectators.

They attended the first day of the second test against Sri Lanka with former teammates Geelong's Jared Rivers and new Tiger Ricky Petterd.

Rivers and Petterd were also photographed in ugly exchanges with fans.

Frawley, one of Melbourne's best players, is a part of the club's leadership group.

It is unknown if the Dees football chiefs will penalise the players.

The Demons are in the process of responding to the AFL's tanking investigation.

Pic gallery: Holiday over for Demons
 

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Hudson key to Pies' plan

Recruit Ben Hudson at Collingwood training. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Collingwood skipper Nick Maxwell says the Pies are close to a premiership. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

Nick Maxwell runs laps during Collingwood pre-season training at Gosch's Paddock. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD captain Nick Maxwell says Ben Hudson's recruitment emphasises the importance of fellow ruckman Darren Jolly to the club's premiership chances.

Maxwell said the off-season influx of senior players - Hudson, Quinten Lynch, Clinton Young and Jordan Russell - indicated the Pies thought they were close to a flag.

He said Hudson could be the most important recruit of the lot as support for 31-year-old Jolly.

"Obviously, Jols has been outstanding for us since he came to the club, but we've got to be careful about how we manage his loads and how much we ask him to do because he's done a lot of ruckwork, the majority of it by himself, since he's come to the club," Maxwell said.

"We've got to make sure we manage him and so Huddo is a good back-up for us and also a good guy to have teach our younger players.

"Quinten Lynch will do some ruckwork, but then guys like Jarrod Witts, who we expect big things from this year, is going to hopefully step up and keep developing.

"With him and young Brodie Grundy, we think that those guys are going to work well with Huddo in the VFL and he'll really help them to develop."

When clubs top up with experience, public opinion often suggests the club thinks it is close to fielding a premiership team. Maxwell said that was a fair assessment of the Pies.

"Absolutely, we definitely think we're close," he said.

"We finished fourth last year and we didn't play very well all year.

"We lost ... guys to long-term injuries during the year and those guys can't be replaced. Luke Ball, Brent Macaffer, Andrew Krakouer, Ben Johnson and Lachie Keeffe, all those guys are going to come in and basically be like new recruits for us."

Maxwell said he was confident Lynch, Young and Russell could make an impact.

"We wanted to bring in guys who could fulfil a need for us as a club," he said.

"Quinten can play forward and do a bit of ruckwork, but we also know he's a different player to what Trav (Cloke) is, so he's a different fellow to have down there. Clinton Young we rated very highly."

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Nowhere to hide for Woods

Looking back on Port's year of pain

Dale Thomas and Tyson Goldsack box at Gosch's Paddock. Picture: Klein Michael Source: Herald Sun

IF THE handful of Collingwood players who did not make the training trip to Utah thought they could escape a fortnight of hard work, they were mistaken.

Nick Maxwell and Alan Didak stayed home for the birth of their children; Alan Toovey was recovering from a wrist injury; and Dale Thomas and Tyson Goldsack were on the way back from ankle surgery.

The quintet were joined by four players selected in the rookie draft.

"There's almost one coach to every player so there's nowhere to hide for anyone ... it's been a pretty good training block," Maxwell said.

He said it hadn't been tough to stay disciplined at training.

"If you're working amongst 40 guys it's easier to hide," the 29-year-old said.

"But the way we've been working has been good and from all the reports coming back they've been really happy with how the boys were training in Utah as well." 

16.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sun shines bright for Bock

Gold Coast Suns defender Nathan Bock participates in a light pool session with his teammates. Picture: Brendan Radke Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

GOLD Coast vice-captain Nathan Bock has opened up about his year from hell, after waving 2012 away with a sense of relief.

Plenty of people welcomed in the new year with a sense of excitement last night but none more than Bock, who declared 2012 the toughest year he's had in footy.

It started with a two-week suspension stemming from a betting scandal the year before but the worst was yet to come as a broken leg and the jailing of his mother, Michelle Joy Bock, for drug trafficking, wrecked his season on and off the field.

The 29-year-old was candid about his year from hell, conceding the off-field issues with his mother took their toll.

"I'm happy to put this year in the back of the mind and concentrate on 2013,'' Bock said. "It was obviously pretty draining and it was frustrating at the start of the season to miss those two games because of the suspension.

"Then I felt like it took me a few weeks to get into form and the game I really felt the best was the one against Fremantle when I ended up breaking my leg.

"Then obviously the stuff with mum had been dragging on for a little while as well and the year was mentally quite challenging and physically very challenging.

"It was probably the toughest year I've had in footy.''

The former Crows defender is looking on the bright side though and believes his leg injury may even help extend his AFL career.

"That's one thought Bluey (Guy McKenna) has and it would be nice to play for as long as I possibly could,'' Bock said.

"I suppose you've got to look at all the positives and (the time I spent out) most of last season potentially could be put on the end of my career.

"I'll be 30 (this) year and most guys say if you can play until you are 32 or 33 then that is a great result.''

And the early signs in Bock's comeback are positive.

The veteran is a month ahead of schedule in his rehab and even began running last month.

"Initially I hadn't planned to start running until about Christmas but I've been running for about four or five weeks now,'' Bock said.

"Initially it just started with a five-minute jog on the AlterG treadmill, which takes a percentage of your body weight away when you run.

"I was building up on that for a few weeks and then just recently I had a couple of runs outside.

"But it's only been a few strides and it's still only a very slow jog.''

With his progress in mind, Bock is hopeful of joining the Suns' main training group by mid-February.

And the versatile tall still holds hope of striding out on to  Metricon Stadium in the Suns' season opener against St Kilda on March 30.

"I saw the surgeon just before Christmas and he was happy with the progress we're making,'' Bock added.

"I would like to think Round 1 is a realistic possibility but we will just have to play it by ear.

"You have a bit of a time frame to when you are back training at full intensity with injuries like an ACL.

"But this injury is a lot different and it just depends on how it feels and how it is progressing.''

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Suns star charged over NYE brawl

Looking back on Port's year of pain

Harley Bennell during a Gold Coast Suns recovery session at Kurrawa beach, Broadbeach. Picture: Brendan Radke Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

RISING Gold Coast Suns star Harley Bennell faces two charges after a New Year's Eve brawl in Western Australia.

Bennell, 20, was allegedly with friends when a large fight broke out during New Year's Eve celebrations on the foreshore at his home town of Mandurah, south of Perth.

Police were called to the Smart St mall at around 2.15am to control a group of people fighting close to a local nightclub.

Bennell was arrested and taken to Mandurah police station, where he was charged this morning with disorderly conduct and failure to obey an order given by an officer and released on bail.

The Suns released a brief statement this afternoon confirming the incident.

"As this is a police matter the club is not in a position to make further comment," the statement said.

Friends of the footballer said he had been trying to break up the fight.

Bennell has played 36 matches for the Suns since being recruited from Perth club Peel Thunder with the No.2 pick in the 2010 national draft.

He had a breakout year with the Suns last year, finishing runner-up to superstar captain Gary Ablett in the club's best-and-fairest count.

Bennell is the second WA-bred player to get into trouble at home during the off-season break. Young Collingwood midfielder Marley Williams was charged with assault after an incident in Albany last week that left a man with a broken jaw.

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What a big year in footy

The best pictures of the 2012 AFL season

Sydney co-captains Adam Goodes and Jarrad McVeigh with the premiership cup. Picture: Alex Coppel Source: Herald Sun

ON THE last day of 2012, relive the best, worst and weirdest moments of the year in footy - and vote for your favourites.

It was the year Greater Western Sydney joined the competition, Kurt Tippett redefined homesickness, Nick Malceski became a premiership hero and "chicken wing" entered the AFL vernacular.

In short, it's been a big year.

At the start of 2012 Brock McLean was a fringe player hoping to extend his AFL career.

By the end of it he had kicked a remarkable winning goal, got way too personal on Twitter and sparked a tanking investigation into his former club. Oh, and he did earn that new one-year contract.

Who would have seen all that coming? Then again, 12 months ago Brett Ratten was dreaming of being a premiership coach. Now he's an assistant at the club most thought would win the flag, but lost to a side many pundits didn't even think would make the top eight.

It seemed the news never stopped - can you believe it's been three months since a ball was kicked in anger (and less than that til next season begins)?

But with a brief pause to welcome the new year, let's catch our collective breath and take a look at what the hell just happened.

Here's Warwick Green's wrap-up of an AFL season that was, in a word, irresistible.

Relive the best games of the season HERE, plus our top 10 marks and the best goals of the season.

We've also ranked the best individual performances of the year just gone.

There were plenty of lowlights too - HERE are the biggest brain fades of 2012.

From the Hawks v Swans to Maric v Walker mullet-off and Mick McGuire's running war with Mick Malthouse, HERE are the biggest footy rivalries of the year.

There were plenty of shock departures from the AFL scene in 2012. Click HERE for our top 10.

Who were the best recruits of the season? Click HERE for our verdict.

And the biggest surprises of the year in footy are all HERE.

You can relive Sydney's remarkable triumph with our interactive storyboard HERE.

And after all that you should get a perfect score in our bumper 2012 footy quiz.

The SuperFooty crew wish all our readers a very happy and safe new year. We'll see you back here in 2013 for another huge year in footy. The first game of the 2013 premiership season is just 81 days away...
 

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Lake out to prove critics wrong

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson with star recruit Brian Lake. Picture: Nicole Garmston Source: Herald Sun

TWO-time All Australian defender Brian Lake says he walked out on Western Bulldogs and joined Hawthorn in a bid to prove his critics wrong.

The 30-year-old - an All Australian in 2009 and 2010 - couldn't see himself playing a big role in the future of the Bulldogs.

After enduring a horrible 2011 season which was dogged by hip, knee and shoulder problems that many thought would end his Bulldogs career, Lake managed 20 games in 2012.

He finished 10th in the club's best-and-fairest but, with youth the cornerstone of Brendan McCartney's rebuild, Lake took a risk and made the move to the Grand Finalists.

"For me, it (leaving the Bulldogs) is to prove a lot of people wrong, they had written me off saying my body was shot and my knee was horrendous," Lake told his new club's website.

"After that terrible year (in 2011), I guess your value to other sides decreases but also to get back to the football I played previous to the injury was a major factor (in leaving) as well.

"(McCartney) was keen for me to stay (after 2011) and he saw a future for me at the club," Lake said.

Western Bulldogs training. Brian Lake leaves training. Picture: Michael Dodge Source: Herald Sun

"(But) things have changed now with the way that club is heading, with the youth and the restructure of the backline.

"I saw Hawthorn as a perfect fit, at my age now, I don't know how much time I would have had at the Bulldogs to move on and hunt down that elusive flag that everyone dreams of having."

Lake watched the thrilling 2012 Grand Final between his new club and Sydney Swans knowing that it was possible that he'd been playing for the Hawks in 2013.

"It was a little bit weird, I did focus a little bit more on Hawthorn than on Sydney and the game," he said.
 

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