Emerging defender, Courtenay Dempsey, has burst back onto the scene with an impressive display in his return to senior football against West Coast on the weekend.
He spent the majority of the day keeping Mark LeCras quiet and was among Essendon’s best players after collecting 25 possessions and kicking a goal.
“At the end of the day, it wasn’t the best result to have lost over in Perth but for me it was just about getting through the game at that pace and getting through it without injuries,” Dempsey said.
“I didn’t think I had that much of the football until I got back to Melbourne and my girlfriend told me. I didn’t think I would have had that much of an impact.”
Dempsey is confident he can repeat the performance when the Bombers clash with Adelaide.
“I think I can go out there and have the same amount of influence this weekend,” he said.
“I feel a lot more comfortable out there so I think I can post another solid performance.”
Dempsey, 20, was drafted to Essendon with selection 19 of the 2005 NAB AFL Draft.
During his three years at the club, injury problems have limited him to only nine senior games.
After completing a full pre-season earlier this year, Dempsey had the football world taking notice throughout the pre-season competition before injuring his hamstring in Round 2.
During his rehabilitation process, Dempsey suffered a stress fracture in his leg which sidelined him for almost ten weeks.
“Injuries were on my mind a bit at the start of the season but I have stopped worrying about it as the season has progressed,” Dempsey said.
“It does play on your mind a little bit but I am doing everything right as far as training and massages and those sorts of things go so my body is feeling pretty good.
""If I keep that up, hopefully I won’t have to worry about injuries again in the near future.
“I am really looking forward to next year when I can put my best foot forward and give the season a real shot.”
Dempsey says he wants to play a similar game to two star indigenous footballers and hopes to establish himself as a regular in the Bombers’ best 22.
“I try to model my game on McLeod and Wanganeen and try to do what they kind of do which is pretty hard because they are very talented players,” he said.
“I am trying hard and if I can stick to doing everything right maybe one day I could be as good as them.”
