Injury-plagued Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney has given the Western Bulldogs hope he is over the worst of the knee problem which ruined his 2011 AFL campaign.
Cooney played in the team’s intraclub hit-out on Wednesday and moved freely, prompting veteran midfielder Daniel Giansiracusa to indicate he was well ahead in his preparation for the coming season.
“I thought he moved all right out there, he’s slowly stepped it up as a lot of the guys who had post-season ops from last year (have),” Giansiracusa said.
“It’s exciting to see those blokes out there. It’s been a grind for them being in rehab but we get a bit of a buzz when we see him out there.
“I think he probably played half of that match practice which is a great sign for us.”
He would not say that Cooney was ready for a full season but was confident the club’s medical staff had helped him to the point where he could expect to play the majority of games.
“They’ve been really good and managed his program fantastically well and I think it’s about timing with him,” he said.
“With a player like that you’ve just got to make sure you manage him well but from what I saw today he’s still got his zip and his spark.”
Giansiracusa even said new coach Brendan McCartney had to “slow him down a bit.”
He said McCartney was “a new voice” following the sacking of Rodney Eade and the side’s game plan had been tinkered with in a bid to improve on last year’s performance.
“You’ll see that throughout the NAB Cup and in the early rounds,” he said.
“The game is going down that path of (being) very defensive and I think we’ll be better in that area.
“But in the end you’ve got to compete for the footy and if we can win enough of the contested ball I think we’re going to go pretty well this year.”
Giansiracusa said that the Dogs were planning to beef up the forward line with players including himself, ruckman Will Minson, Jordan Roughead and rookie draft selection Jack Redpath all set to spend time in attack.
“You don’t want to look into the past but when we did play our best footy we had six or seven options, guys kicking 30 or 40 goals, and I think you need a spread if you’re going to be successful,” he said.
Meanwhile, All-Australian defender Brian Lake is moving back into training following a minor calf injury early in the new year.
McCartney said Lake would be playing a lot leaner this season after playing just a handful of games last year due to leg problems.
He said he had used Geelong full-back Matthew Scarlett as a model for Lake, suggesting that at 29, a lighter frame would help him optimise his chances of playing on injury-free.
