BulldogBelle
31-03-2009, 12:30 AM
Good article...
Cooney gets through without a hitch, wagon can start to roll (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/cooney-gets-through-without-a-hitch/2009/03/30/1238261514093.html)
The Age
Samantha Lane | March 31, 2009
ADAM Cooney might have played just a little over half of his side's first-round match, but the Western Bulldogs believe they can unleash the Brownlow medallist for longer this week against North Melbourne.
Cooney was on field for just 57 per cent of the Dogs' barnstorming defeat of Fremantle on Sunday — he still gathered 20 possessions — after the Dogs opted to take a conservative approach with the prize midfielder in the wake of the groin surgery he had before Christmas. A good recovery from his outing in Perth indicates that Cooney's game time will steadily increase.
"Normally you get them up around the 80-90 per cent of the game. But he got through without additional injury and without hurting himself and that's the main thing," Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said yesterday.
"We started him on the bench and we were mindful of how much game time he was given, but he looked fresh and he certainly responded well every time he was on the ground, and when he came off it didn't take him long to feel that he was ready to go again."
The majority of the Dogs contingent returned to Melbourne at 5.40am yesterday after leaving Perth on a 10.30pm flight after their match and, given they have to make the long trip west twice in four weeks, their recovery has been carefully planned.
The team completed an hour-long warm down session at Subiaco on Sunday night before convening at a restaurant to eat a meal designed by the club's dietician. Rather than return to headquarters as soon as they hit home early yesterday, the players were instructed to go home to rest and asked to either swim, walk or jog later in the day.
Their group recovery was to begin at 7.30am today.
"In the past some of the times they've brought players back in the afternoon to do stuff, but we made the decision today that the best form of recovery was them being at home," the club's head of physical performance Bill Davoren said yesterday.
"The aim is to be back into routine tomorrow."
Fantasia agreed that the fact Tom Williams made it through the round-one match unscathed was a significant milestone.
Sunday marked just the 20th senior outing for the sixth pick of the 2004 draft, who is highly talented but has battled an assortment of injuries.
Having not played a home-and-away game since mid-last year, Williams was called up after Robert Murphy, who had off-season knee surgery, was deemed unfit to line up against the Dockers.
"It's like you get to the bottom of a hill and you've got to climb it again, and he's had to do that a few times and — significantly — he got through the week with a big tick," Fantasia said of the 22-year-old key-position prospect.
"It was very pleasing that he got through the game — certainly unscathed — did some terrific work and is better for the run.
"We know that it's a marathon, the season, and one of the things that Tommy's determined to get under his belt is some continuous footy. But at the early stages it's great he's standing up."
Cooney gets through without a hitch, wagon can start to roll (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/cooney-gets-through-without-a-hitch/2009/03/30/1238261514093.html)
The Age
Samantha Lane | March 31, 2009
ADAM Cooney might have played just a little over half of his side's first-round match, but the Western Bulldogs believe they can unleash the Brownlow medallist for longer this week against North Melbourne.
Cooney was on field for just 57 per cent of the Dogs' barnstorming defeat of Fremantle on Sunday — he still gathered 20 possessions — after the Dogs opted to take a conservative approach with the prize midfielder in the wake of the groin surgery he had before Christmas. A good recovery from his outing in Perth indicates that Cooney's game time will steadily increase.
"Normally you get them up around the 80-90 per cent of the game. But he got through without additional injury and without hurting himself and that's the main thing," Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said yesterday.
"We started him on the bench and we were mindful of how much game time he was given, but he looked fresh and he certainly responded well every time he was on the ground, and when he came off it didn't take him long to feel that he was ready to go again."
The majority of the Dogs contingent returned to Melbourne at 5.40am yesterday after leaving Perth on a 10.30pm flight after their match and, given they have to make the long trip west twice in four weeks, their recovery has been carefully planned.
The team completed an hour-long warm down session at Subiaco on Sunday night before convening at a restaurant to eat a meal designed by the club's dietician. Rather than return to headquarters as soon as they hit home early yesterday, the players were instructed to go home to rest and asked to either swim, walk or jog later in the day.
Their group recovery was to begin at 7.30am today.
"In the past some of the times they've brought players back in the afternoon to do stuff, but we made the decision today that the best form of recovery was them being at home," the club's head of physical performance Bill Davoren said yesterday.
"The aim is to be back into routine tomorrow."
Fantasia agreed that the fact Tom Williams made it through the round-one match unscathed was a significant milestone.
Sunday marked just the 20th senior outing for the sixth pick of the 2004 draft, who is highly talented but has battled an assortment of injuries.
Having not played a home-and-away game since mid-last year, Williams was called up after Robert Murphy, who had off-season knee surgery, was deemed unfit to line up against the Dockers.
"It's like you get to the bottom of a hill and you've got to climb it again, and he's had to do that a few times and — significantly — he got through the week with a big tick," Fantasia said of the 22-year-old key-position prospect.
"It was very pleasing that he got through the game — certainly unscathed — did some terrific work and is better for the run.
"We know that it's a marathon, the season, and one of the things that Tommy's determined to get under his belt is some continuous footy. But at the early stages it's great he's standing up."