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BARNES TO RETURN FOR THE BOMBERS
Retired Bomber ruckman John Barnes will make a return to the footy field this weekend in the VFL side. The 32-year-old will play in the Round 5 clash against the Bendigo Diggers as a top-up player. Barnes who is the Bombers current ruck coach, has been playing with Melton in the Ballarat League this season. Football manager Matthew Drain says that Barnes may play up to seven to eight games for the Essendon VFL side. “John’s experience and knowledge of the game as well as his role as ruck coach will be important in assisting the development of all players,"" Drain said.
Retired Bomber ruckman John Barnes will make a return to the footy field this weekend in the VFL side. The 32-year-old will play in the Round 5 clash against the Bendigo Diggers as a top-up player. Barnes who is the Bombers current ruck coach, has been playing with Melton in the Ballarat League this season. Football manager Matthew Drain says that Barnes may play up to seven to eight games for the Essendon VFL side. “John’s experience and knowledge of the game as well as his role as ruck coach will be important in assisting the development of all players. John will probably spend a lot of his time in the forward line or defence,” Drain said.
Barnes was a promising young ruckman who came to Essendon from Cobram in 1987 - he was originally from Essendon's country zone. Barnes played six games in 1987 and was then traded to Geelong in a swap that saw Sean Denham go to Essendon. Barnes then became the number one ruckman at Geelong and played in three Grand Finals.
Barnes returned to Essendon in 2000 and this proved to be a successful move for Barnes. Barnes was a member of the winning 2000 Grand Final team and finished tenth in the Crichton medal. John Barnes retired at the end of the 2001 season after playing 58 games for the Bombers. Barnes is the current ruck coach at Essendon.
The Essendon team had a light run on the training track this morning in preparation for tomorrow's clash against Fremantle at Subiaco. The full squad will fly to Perth at 3pm this afternoon for the important match. Essendon have lost two of its past three matches and are determined to get back on the winners list. Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy said it is a huge game for both clubs. ""We need to get back on the winning list. We have the next week or two to make sure we are spot on with everything we do."" Scott Lucas and Sean Wellman's return to the team will greatly strengthen the side that lost to Collingwood by 33-points.
