“It is an important step simply because he can feel like he is making progress,” Essendon assistant coach Gary O’Donnell said. “Recovering from significant injuries can be a slog and each small thing you can tick off along the way gives him a lift, and everyone around him.”
“There is that added element for Brent in that he is at a new club and he is very keen to get out amongst the group and be a part of it. That will frustrate him but it is important we follow the medical advice and get him right for the long-term.
“We have noticed Brent is extremely diligent when it comes to his rehab. He has been doing static skills with a real intensity and purpose and taking others with him. We think that is a really good sign.”
Courtenay Dempsey: “Courtenay is on a modified training load. We are trying to get him fit without putting too much strain on his body at this stage of the pre-season. He is a doing a lot of non-weight bearing fitness work.”
Alwyn Davey: “Alwyn has been very impressive to this stage. He has been doing straight-line running at 100% and he doesn’t seem to have lost any speed. He is yet to do off-the-line running at full tilt – he will have some more conditioning work before all of that but at this stage the signs are good.”
Darcy Daniher: “He is still recovering from a back injury – this can be a slow process but he is young so we aren’t pushing him too hard at the moment. His program is being built up around static skills and non-weight bearing fitness work. It will be slow build up.”
Scott Gumbleton: “He is doing everything at the moment – looking and feeling good. He is doing all the running and conditioning. He is coping with everything that has been asked of him. A 15.2 beep test – which he did recently - is an exceptional result for a big player. We all hope his bad luck is behind him.”
Jay Neagle: “He is going through a similar build up to Dempsey. Slow and steady and doing some extra work to ensure his fitness is improving. Like Gumbleton we just hope he has some luck – he could be an important player for us this year.”
Andrew Lovett: “He is training with real intensity. He has been that way consistently throughout the two months of pre-season training. He trains at full pace and is giving himself every opportunity – he is letting everyone know he wants to be a part of it this season and the players are respecting that.”
