ESSENDON forward Scott Lucas says Bomber captain Matthew Lloyd could be back for this week’s NAB Cup semi-final against St Kilda.
Lucas has relished being the number one man in attack for the Bombers, including five goals against the Bulldogs last week, but said it would not be long until his old partner in crime would be back on the park.
Lloyd trained separately from the main group at Monday afternoon's session, concentrating solely on ball work. "Lloydy’s going well. I think he’d be 50-50 this week," Lucas said.
"If it were an in-season (home and away) game he would play. Whether he does this week, keeping in mind where we’re at, he might not. Then again he might push up, it depends how training goes."
Others on limited training included Adam McPhee, Dustin Fletcher, Mal Michael and Scott Gumbleton.
Lucas said while he was pleased with the team’s performance in the NAB Cup, it should be put it in context. "Let’s keep it in perspective, it is February but so far a lot of our younger players have played particularly well, which is pleasing,” Lucas said.
"It's much better than getting smacked by 10 goals but I think you can read too much into it, which we have been wary of doing. "Knighter" (coach Matthew Knights) has rested some guys and brought others into the team. If we were playing our best team each week and tapering training you'd think that maybe this is as good as we can go but we continue to train very hard in the lead-up to round one."
Lucas said the in-house suspension of Andrew Lovett was not so much a result of the new regime under Knights, but a step taken for Lovett’s own good.
"What we've put in place for Andrew is what we believe is best for him and to help him. Then he'll come back bigger and better," Lucas said. "First and foremost is to help him through it."
Lucas said the side's pacy new look was as much due to fast disposal as leg speed. "I don't think guys are running a whole lot more and I think the ball movement has been noticeably sped up," Lucas said.
"While the ball is moving fast there is a perception that everyone is running harder and faster. I don't think there is significant changes in the ground that we're covering. That’s what the data is saying."
i dont think he should come back, but thats just me.
thoughts?
Lucas has relished being the number one man in attack for the Bombers, including five goals against the Bulldogs last week, but said it would not be long until his old partner in crime would be back on the park.
Lloyd trained separately from the main group at Monday afternoon's session, concentrating solely on ball work. "Lloydy’s going well. I think he’d be 50-50 this week," Lucas said.
"If it were an in-season (home and away) game he would play. Whether he does this week, keeping in mind where we’re at, he might not. Then again he might push up, it depends how training goes."
Others on limited training included Adam McPhee, Dustin Fletcher, Mal Michael and Scott Gumbleton.
Lucas said while he was pleased with the team’s performance in the NAB Cup, it should be put it in context. "Let’s keep it in perspective, it is February but so far a lot of our younger players have played particularly well, which is pleasing,” Lucas said.
"It's much better than getting smacked by 10 goals but I think you can read too much into it, which we have been wary of doing. "Knighter" (coach Matthew Knights) has rested some guys and brought others into the team. If we were playing our best team each week and tapering training you'd think that maybe this is as good as we can go but we continue to train very hard in the lead-up to round one."
Lucas said the in-house suspension of Andrew Lovett was not so much a result of the new regime under Knights, but a step taken for Lovett’s own good.
"What we've put in place for Andrew is what we believe is best for him and to help him. Then he'll come back bigger and better," Lucas said. "First and foremost is to help him through it."
Lucas said the side's pacy new look was as much due to fast disposal as leg speed. "I don't think guys are running a whole lot more and I think the ball movement has been noticeably sped up," Lucas said.
"While the ball is moving fast there is a perception that everyone is running harder and faster. I don't think there is significant changes in the ground that we're covering. That’s what the data is saying."
i dont think he should come back, but thats just me.
thoughts?
