Harley Bennell to meet with Melbourne-based club in hope of AFL comeback
Fremantle gave up on Harley Bennell but the super-talented, but oft-injured star plans to play AFL footy next year, with surgery and then a meeting with a Melbourne club lined up.
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Injury-plagued speedster Harley Bennell will meet with a Melbourne-based club later this month as he eyes a miraculous AFL comeback.
Bennell, 26, will undergo a second bout of surgery on his troublesome calves in a fortnight after specialists identified what they believe is the mystery problem that has cruelled his 83-game career.
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Geelong injury specialist Peter Stanton and his surgeons are adamant Bennell will be fully recovered and back in training by November.
The issue that went undetected during his time at Fremantle involves a tendon pushing onto a nerve in both of Bennell’s calves.
Bennell and his manager Colin Young will meet with officials from a Victorian club in three weeks to provide an update on his mental and physical wellbeing.
The 2010 No.2 draft pick is determined to revive his AFL career away from Perth after breaking down and being cut adrift by the Dockers in June.
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He looms as the game’s next big redemption story.
Relaxed player movement rules will allow clubs to offer him a pre-season without commitment and the chance to add him to the list in the new year in the same way Richmond success story Sydney Stack found his way to Punt Rd this season.
It would effectively represent a free throw at the stumps for clubs like Essendon, St Kilda and Melbourne desperately seeking outside run and polish.
Bennell played just two games for Fremantle across four seasons after shifting from the Gold Coast Suns at the end of 2015.
All clubs be sent a copy of Bennell’s medical status ahead of November’s national and pre-season drafts.
“Harley will meet with a club in the next two to three weeks to see where his mind is at and where his body is at,” a figure close to Bennell told the Herald Sun.
“He believes he can do it.”
Dockers skipper Nat Fyfe defended his club’s medical program on Sunday amid claims Fremantle players were being let down in their rehabilitation.
“If you look at our injury list compared to other AFL team injury lists, Collingwood has 17 or 18, we have nine or 10,” Fyfe told Triple M.
“I know internally our doctors and medical staff are doing everything they can.
“They look across the country, they look internationally if they have to, to try and find the best ways to rehab and bring guys back.”
WHO SHOULD LOOK AT HARLEY?
ST KILDA
Could zero in on Fremantle pair Brad Hill and Harley Bennell as a package. The Saints need some more midfield class and are at risk of losing star onballer Jack Steven.
ESSENDON
The Bombers’ list is already in good shape but Bennell could be the cherry on top if the speedster can get his body right. Should be in top-four contention next year.
MELBOURNE
The Demons have a talented onball brigade but they have lacked poise and run on the outside. Bennell was one of the best kicks in the league before his calf dramas.
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