Carlton draftee Brodie Kemp receives positive news on ACL recovery
Good news came in twos for Carlton draftee Brodie Kemp on Wednesday night. Not only was he drafted to the club where his idol plays, but the Echuca product received good news on his injured knee.
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Carlton draftee Brodie Kemp is hopeful of ramping up his training after Christmas, having received positive news in his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
The Echuca-raised Kemp tore his ACL during a school football game for Geelong Grammar in July but was advised by surgeon Julian Feller on Wednesday that he was ready to resume running.
The good news on the injury front came just hours before Kemp’s day was made even better when he joined Carlton with pick 17 in the AFL national draft.
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“The ACL’s really good,” Kemp told the Herald Sun.
“He (Feller) says I can start running but I think I might just delay it a little bit more and take a conservative approach and I think Carlton will do the same. I’m just looking forward to getting to Carlton and starting the rehab process and getting into it.”
A big-bodied midfielder, Kemp has long looked up to a player who will now be his co-captain – Patrick Cripps.
Kemp stands 192cm – just 3cm less than Cripps – and averaged 20 disposals, 6.5 marks and 4.3 score involvements for Vic Country at the under-18 national championships this year.
“He (Cripps) is a player I’ve watched over his whole career and a player I’ve really tried to model my game off,” Kemp said.
“To be working alongside him is something that I’m really looking forward to and to learn off him and constantly see how he goes about it, it’s going to be something that’s going to hold me in good stead.”
While Kemp always shaped as a first-round selection despite his injury, his final destination came as a shock even to him.
Kemp met with Carlton at Princes Park on Wednesday for the first time since the draft combine in early October.
“I suppose you could say it came a bit out of nowhere,” Kemp said.
“But it was definitely a good feeling when they read my name out.
“I’m really grateful that even doing a serious injury like that I was able to get picked up and get picked up by a really good club that’s going places.”
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Kemp, who had Carlton co-captain Sam Docherty reach out to him after he tore his ACL, said he hoped to be part of an exciting future for the club under new coach David Teague.
“I think Teaguey does a really good job of making a good environment for the Blues and their list as well is really good,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to getting into it and hopefully contributing in the next couple of years.”
Originally published as Carlton draftee Brodie Kemp receives positive news on ACL recovery
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