One of the good news stories to emerge from the pre-season is that Alwyn ‘Frog’ Davey, is on course to play in the 2009 NAB Cup and Round 1 of the regular season.
The exciting 171cm small forward tore the anterior cruciate ligament his right knee during a training drill and managed just five games for the season.
“The knee is coming along well,” he said.
“In training I have been doing a fair bit of agility, landing and turning on my knee and they (the fitness staff) were happy with it.
“It’s getting back to normal. There is still a little bit of pain from the damage but other than that everything is good.”
The 24-year-old father of three boys has played 19-games since making his debut in 2007.
He is expected to start training with the main group (but with no contact) early January and will join in full training roughly a month after that.
“We are going to wait and try and get my knee right and hopefully I can play in the second week of the NAB Cup. We just have to wait and see how it (the knee) goes,” he said.
“I have taken it fairly easy during the break to give myself time to recover.
“I was doing some weights sessions but then I got married in Adelaide in October and went on my honeymoon (to the Maldives) so I had a good break but now I am back into training.”
During the 2008 season there was speculation Davey could be lured to the Melbourne to join his brother Aaron, but he has committed to Essendon and signed a two-year contract.
Davey admits he was tempted by the chance to play with his older brother but ultimately decided to stay with Essendon because they look after the players and the fact the next two years will be exciting.
The pick No. 36 in 2006 draft has also revealed the origins of his life-long nickname saying, because he was a “fat baby”, his family thought he looked like a frog and his nickname was born.
