News Harley Bennell - Ends at Freo in 2019

Superkoops

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I need to have a listen to the Bell interview but there would be very little chance he will be in purple next year.

Ross was very clear on that. I’d say there would be some chance he stays on down at Peel next season.

I did catch the interview of Ross with Barich last night. That bloke is amateur hour at it’s finest. He awkwardly asked Ross whether Bennell was back at training - he said it almost sheepishly like a kid who took two cookies instead of 1. Anyway Ross didn’t seem to know what the fuss was all about and said Bennell had a week off for paternity leave -his partner had a baby last week and he is back at training rehabbing his calf now and that nothing had changed.

Is there something going on with Bennell that isn’t so obvious. To me it is all bout nothing. The bloke did his calf - pretty significantly a couple of weeks before his baby was due. Is listed as TBC on injury list because it is a severe injury that doesn’t yet have a recovery prognosis. Then had a week off with the baby born supporting his other half and has been back at Cockburn rehabbing his calf.

This has a Crumpets Cockdorn swing to this.
 

Superkoops

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Had a listen to the Bell interview. Comment was around working through a few different options regarding HB, which could include any or multiple of the following:
- Train with Freo for Rookie list possibility (Nov Rookie draft or May mid-season draft) - not eligible for March SSP.
- WAFL with Peel
- Retirement
- Settlement pay-out and finish now
- Delist to allow being picked up as DFA by another club.

I’d say we Delist him and give him the option to be be picked up elsewhere as DFA and otherwise nominate for the drafts. Every possibility that he continue to train at the club throughout Aug-Nov in the hope of a Rookie list possibility (either at Freo or another club). If not selected as a DFA or the ND/Rookie Drafts then he can play at Peel with the view giving himself another chance in the mid season May mid-season draft.
 
Dec 29, 2008
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Excellent response, thanks again.

Must admit I thought the same when Hogan first came over and was walking around everywhere in his thongs!

I've questioned what's happened in Harley's rehab over the years with us. When he received his first injury, a contact injury to the calf in the last minutes of a WAFL match before he's even played one AFL game the S&C dept built up his calf strength to be 40% more than any other player. Then he seriously injured it again? I have no idea why they would do that!
It's a good point re: strength. It's clearly important and you can never really be strong enough, but you cant out strengthen stiffness and poor positions. You can create a bigger bigger against dysfunction, but strength alone usually cant "cure" most injuries.
 
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It can create issues if opposing muscles aren't similarly "strong".
Usually in the hamstrings if not rehabilitated properly with the quads .. oh wait? Still don't know how Shilly got a calf injury while rehabbing his quad though?

Unusual for the tibialis anterior to have problems or shin splints that have resulted from calf strength imbalance.

However I think what sven has written does make a lot of sense in what we should have been doing in rehabbing Harley's injury which I don't think happened at all. Did you read the links sven provided?
 

theGav56

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THere is no evidence we are not at the best pract

Sorry but thats utter nonsense. That's why how we havent changed our conditioning team despite a heap of new players and professionals coming to the club in recent years. How injuries are managed across the board is actually very standard across all of the afl. Im pretty sure someone like Conca whos had a ton of injuries at Richmond would also agree with what Im saying. Finding a cure for cancer. Thats new medical ground. How sports injuries are managed and the procedure for bringing players back is VERY much standard procedure with the skill of the surgeon who does the operation way more important than the strength and management of an injury which Im certain youd find. Ironically, its only every now and then that a new procedure becomes available in sports injuriues. LIke the blood injections of the calves, which we tried with Bennell.
Just pointing out that I am not saying whether we are at best practice or not. Like most on here I have no idea, and i am confident that the club would have this as their goal. And I hope Bell is don't everything possible to achieve and/or maintain that. Our injury list has always looked bad because we hang onto players with long-term injuries. I can definitely see why the club hung onto the likes of Apeness, Morabitto, Menegola, Bennell and co. They have the potential to be very important additions to our best 22. Game breakers even. So I am not so fussed about that. In simplistic terms it prevents us recruiting players like Watson or O'Reilly, who are also speculative and unlikely to forge great AFL careers.
 

Bicco

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Does anyone else find it odd that Harley wasn't selected to come in after a couple of games with Peel yet Hill comes straight back into the team. To me that seems a bit strange, especially with Ross's public admiration of Harleys talents.
 
And it’s finally official


The Fremantle Dockers advise that Harley Bennell will not be at the club in 2020 after arrangements were finalised for the injury-plagued, former no. 2 draft pick to be released from his contract.
“The club, Harley and his management have mutually agreed on a deed of settlement to release Harley from his AFL playing contract for 2019,” general manager of football Peter Bell said.
“It’s been an incredibly frustrating and disappointing period for Harley and the club trying to get his body right to play.
“Harley’s resilience and determination to overcome numerous set-backs has been amazing and a pointer to why he has indicated to the club that he wants to seek an opportunity elsewhere to play at the elite level.
“We believe we have done everything we possibly could as a club to support Harley during his time at Fremantle and we will continue to support Harley post his departure from the club, as we would with any former player.
“On behalf of everyone at Fremantle, we wish Harley and his family all the very best for the future and he will always be welcome here at the club.”
 
What’s the deal with doing this before the end of the season?
He is obligated to attend the club for rehab, team meetings, meeting skinfold targets etc.

Now he can show up to see the physio but can spend the rest of the time with his baby girl.
 

mr.11

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Anyone else know what "deed of settlement " means - Amount agreed to pay them out pending certain conditions, that don’t allow them to come back and ask for anything else later on ?? That roughly right

“I’m not retiring at this stage,” Bennell said. - Obviously still a chance he retire

I see Sydney giving him a chance
 
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Sweetback

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He is obligated to attend the club for rehab, team meetings, meeting skinfold targets etc.

Now he can show up to see the physio but can spend the rest of the time with his baby girl.

He still wants to play on though, although an opportunity to decompress and be with family is understandable. Would it have anything to do with trying to lure Tim Kelly?
 
Sep 20, 2008
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What’s the deal with doing this before the end of the season?

Probably just because he's welcomed a new baby. Club and he most likely came to an agreement to just terminate now so he can spend time at home and not worry about turning up to the club all the time. He'll heal and rehab the injury but probably with a focus to the off season instead of trying for this season. The timing of the new baby just spend up the end of his time here.
 

Square Peg

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The injury thread just isn't going to seem the same without Bennell TBA
 

Johnny Dalmas

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Anyone else know what "deed of settlement " means - Amount agreed to pay them out pending certain conditions, that don’t allow them to come back and ask for anything else later on ?? That roughly right

“I’m not retiring at this stage,” Bennell said. - Obviously still a chance he retire

I see Sydney giving him a chance
Yep pretty much that. We will agree to pay some (but probably not all) of what he would get if he stayed on for the full length of the contract. And he doesn't have to show up to work anymore. You reckon there would be additional conditions like: he can access club medical staff for rehab purposes and he can't sue us later for termination

Maybe the Hawks would be interested? They like to back themselves in when it comes to rehab-iing injured players. Maybe no-one. His last significant football was a long time ago.
 
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