WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - HARLEY BENNELL

[george_on_the_outer 6,942]

Channel 9 News has Ross Lyon commentating on why Harley is looking so good...." one word..Darren Burgess"

 

https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/ross-lyon-confident-about-harley-bennell-melbourne-demons-return/3800b7de-c3bd-4c3c-a86b-91ead1f12a72

[dworship 3,342]

21 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

Channel 9 News has Ross Lyon commentating on why Harley is looking so good...." one word..Darren Burgess"

 

https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/ross-lyon-confident-about-harley-bennell-melbourne-demons-return/3800b7de-c3bd-4c3c-a86b-91ead1f12a72

That's 2 words but should have been "one name". Seriously though, the whole medical and fitness turnover may be something we look back on in years to come and say " great decisions Melbourne"

[MyFavouriteMartian 572]

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

So serious question... Given that he still is yet to actually get on the park and play, Why and what has occured for him almost miraculously to be able to train almost at full throttle! What have we got that Freo Lacked in terms of Conditioning, Physios, Surgeons etc!

Am I missing something here??

Yes, the highly specialised Surgery he underwent.

Removing a part of the calf muscle strands group,  which were problematic.   Complete removal of one of those muscles,  from his legs.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,567]

One thing I note about HB at the moment is that he is always training in leggings.  To me that suggests somewhere in between that he and the club are taking sensible no regrets precautions, but that no one is 100% confident in it yet either. 

The club keeps talking about building up enough of a base with him to put him on a sustainable path going forward, so I'm wondering how long can everyone be patient and resist selecting him if he keeps showing really good form on the track.  As some have suggested, full contact might not be any worse for HB's injury problems, but I think there is a huge difference between training drills/match simulation and the physical stresses of game day footy / match fit.

I continue to be optermistically hopeful this comes off long term for all parties.

[Nelo 813]

I would just play him. What have we got to lose? Even if not fully fit, I would think he would be better than our 22nd player such as spargo or Bedford. 

[Demon Disciple 10,893]

1 hour ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

One thing I note about HB at the moment is that he is always training in leggings.

You make a good point RG. I'm not 100% up to date on the benefits of compression apparel, but is there a rule preventing HB from playing games in them?

If that constant pressure applied to the calves even helps out 1%, why not wear them in games?

[Ethan Tremblay 28,285]

3 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

You make a good point RG. I'm not 100% up to date on the benefits of compression apparel, but is there a rule preventing HB from playing games in them?

If that constant pressure applied to the calves even helps out 1%, why not wear them in games?

Nat Fyfe wears an arm sleeve, can’t see what the difference is with wearing them on your leg/legs. 
 

[BW511 2,236]

It will be interesting to see some more footage. At present he's 'training the house down' by just being out there.

Is he actually doing things on the track that warrant the media attention or are they looking for a story in a desperately slow period?

Full credit to the club for taking a risk and the medical staff for getting him to this point, let's hope the last portion sees us reap the rewards for years to come

[old55 21,211]

11 hours ago, picket fence said:

So serious question... Given that he still is yet to actually get on the park and play, Why and what has occured for him almost miraculously to be able to train almost at full throttle! What have we got that Freo Lacked in terms of Conditioning, Physios, Surgeons etc!

Am I missing something here??

Look I'm optimistic but it should be noted that he got up to play for Peel Thunder in the WAFL a number of times and broke down.  He has been this far before.

If he can sustain it at even 80% of his original capacity he'll be one of our best players.

[Robbie57 1,990]

7 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

You make a good point RG. I'm not 100% up to date on the benefits of compression apparel, but is there a rule preventing HB from playing games in them?

If that constant pressure applied to the calves even helps out 1%, why not wear them in games?

Absolutely if they help physically or with his confidence (and are allowed) wear them. 

[loges 6,002]

1 hour ago, BW511 said:

It will be interesting to see some more footage. At present he's 'training the house down' by just being out there.

Is he actually doing things on the track that warrant the media attention or are they looking for a story in a desperately slow period?

Full credit to the club for taking a risk and the medical staff for getting him to this point, let's hope the last portion sees us reap the rewards for years to come

If you listen to player interviews they seem absolutely pumped in the way he's performing.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,567]

17 minutes ago, loges said:

If you listen to player interviews they seem absolutely pumped in the way he's performing.

My interpretation of that is two fold:

1.  That the natural skills and footy nouse of HB stand out from the pack.  But he might only need to be 50% fit for that to be apparent;

2.  I think there is also an element of excitement and encouragement that he has made it back this far and I see part of the players being pumped in the way he's performing as being a form of moral support, encouragement and embrace from the playing group.

I'm not sure that I read it as him being ready to play Rd 2 necessarily, but I look forward to the point when the medical/fitness team pronounce when they all think he is at that point be that Rd 2 or a bit further down the track.

[BW511 2,236]

4 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

My interpretation of that is two fold:

1.  That the natural skills and footy nouse of HB stand out from the pack.  But he might only need to be 50% fit for that to be apparent;

2.  I think there is also an element of excitement and encouragement that he has made it back this far and I see part of the players being pumped in the way he's performing as being a form of moral support, encouragement and embrace from the playing group.

I'm not sure that I read it as him being ready to play Rd 2 necessarily, but I look forward to the point when the medical/fitness team pronounce when they all think he is at that point be that Rd 2 or a bit further down the track.

I am in the same boat. Regardless of how well Harley is doing, the directive would be to look after him at every opportunity

[Paulo 285]

1 game in 3 years, might be a little rusty,  a player of his skill should adjust quicker than most, but I still would not be expecting a lot from him early and would not be surprised even if he were to be dropped or rested at times

 

 

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,567]

10 hours ago, Nelo said:

I would just play him. What have we got to lose? Even if not fully fit, I would think he would be better than our 22nd player such as spargo or Bedford. 

If he's not fully fit, we have the long term physical well being of a potential A grade player to loose.  This isn't so much about what contribution HB could contribute to beating Carlton or not in his first game back. 

I think most MFC supporters have seen enough botched injury management over the years to know that winning a game or two along the way is less important than taking the patient path and doing what we can to guard against aggravating serious but manageable injury problems into those which become crippling long term chronic career ending ones.  This applies doubly to a player with the injury history and talent profile of HB.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

[Bay Riffin 1,413]

1 hour ago, Fifty-5 said:

Look I'm optimistic but it should be noted that he got up to play for Peel Thunder in the WAFL a number of times and broke down.  He has been this far before.

If he can sustain it at even 80% of his original capacity he'll be one of our best players.

correct. he has been in the position a few times and then broken down. Its whether those calves can take it over a period. and often players come back and do other 'compensatory' injuries like hamstrings which they always say are unrelated, but in effect are a secondary effect.

we can only wait and see if he can string a number of games together, at any level.

[Mickey 4,172]

1 hour ago, Robbie57 said:

Absolutely if they help physically or with his confidence (and are allowed) wear them. 

I'm pretty sure they're not allowed. 

In lower grades down to knee length is allowed, if they are skin coloured. Ive never seen an AFL player wear longer than that while playing, nor compression socks. 

[hardtack 10,126]

56 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

If he's not fully fit, we have the long term physical well being of a potential A grade player to loose.  This isn't so much about what contribution HB could contribute to beating Carlton or not in his first game back. 

I think most MFC supporters have seen enough botched injury management over the years to know that winning a game or two along the way is less important than taking the patient path and doing what we can to guard against aggravating serious but manageable injury problems into those which become crippling long term chronic career ending ones.  This applies doubly to a player with the injury history and talent profile of HB.

Then perhaps Nelo's question should be rephrased to "What has he got to lose?"; after all, it is Bennell who is going to have to manage any such chronic injury after his football career is over.  Hopefully the MFC aren't quite so bloody minded.

[Damo 2,969]

The danger lies in not tackling HB hard enough at training in fear he might be frail. If that is a possibility, then we are setting him, and us up to fail. Put jack Viney on him for a session or two.

[deelusions from afar 1,608]

One thing that surprised me is that Tomlinson said HB he's probably the best stoppage player going around - if he's getting the chance to play in the guts in match sims, he's not exactly being wrapped in cotton wool!

[FarNorthernD 5,839]

Things I didn’t know about Harley

• He won the Larke medal for the best player in the Australian U18 Champs. 
• He was the #2 draft pick in his year one behind David Swallow and 51 spots ahead of Tom McDonald.
• He was dropped for disciplinary issues on five separate occasions from the Gold Coast side. 
• As a 19 yo came second behind Ablett in the Gold Coast B & F, averaging 24 possessions and more than a goal a game. 
• He is only 27yo (I thought he was older) and, at least in theory, should be coming into the best footy of his life.

For a team desperately short of clean and highly skilled mids, who are also great kicks Harley will probably end up being our most important player within a few games. 

[FarNorthernD 5,839]

On 6/3/2020 at 1:20 AM, Wrecker45 said:

HB will be the good news story of an otherwise [censored] season.

Vandenberg will sneak under the radar.

I know what you meant, but I’m guessing that’s the first time the words ‘Vandenberg’ and  ‘sneaking under the radar’ have ever appeared in the same sentence 

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,567]

17 minutes ago, FarNorthernD said:

Things I didn’t know about Harley

• He won the Larke medal for the best player in the Australian U18 Champs. 
• He was the #2 draft pick in his year one behind David Swallow and 51 spots ahead of Tom McDonald.
• He was dropped for disciplinary issues on five separate occasions from the Gold Coast side. 
• As a 19 yo came second behind Ablett in the Gold Coast B & F, averaging 24 possessions and more than a goal a game. 
• He is only 27yo (I thought he was older) and, at least in theory, should be coming into the best footy of his life.

For a team desperately short of clean and highly skilled mids, who are also great kicks Harley will probably end up being our most important player within a few games. 

HB's first few years on the GC list were nothing short of sensational.  HB and Dion Prestia were two of the players I would always have loved to have poached from GC and we all know what happened after Prestia went to the Tigers.  With all his injuries, his off feild indiscretions and the sheer time he has been effectively out of the game I think people have forgotten what a generational type of player he once looked like becoming.  There were very good reasons why both Freo and the MFC thought HB was worth taking a risk on.

Some of the irony in this is that GC picked up HB with picks that would probably have otherwise belonged to the MFC at the time.  Maybe this is Karma's way of righting past wrongs of the AFL?

[ManDee 7,073]

3 hours ago, Mickey said:

I'm pretty sure they're not allowed. 

In lower grades down to knee length is allowed, if they are skin coloured. Ive never seen an AFL player wear longer than that while playing, nor compression socks. 

Jason McCartney did.

[Ethan Tremblay 28,285]

Brad Green occasionally wore skins/compression leggings albeit they were from the knee down and mostly covered by socks. 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Ethan Tremblay