TonyK
CibbuanoCousins impresses
February 5th 2009 04:04
BEN Cousins will not play in Richmond's first round NAB Cup match against Fremantle at Subiaco Oval next week despite performing well in the club's intra-club match at Gosch's Park on Thursday, according to assistant coach Brian Royal.
Cousins did not appear to be lacking match fitness despite being out of the game for such a long period but Royal said the former West Coast captain won't be risked against the Dockers.
"Our plan all along has been around Ben playing Round 1 against Carlton," he said.
"He definitely won't be playing Round 1 of the NAB Cup because today is the most he has done from a footy point of view and certainly the physicality of the game and the intensity, especially in these (hot) conditions, is something he hasn’t been able to cope with in the last couple of months so we will need to see how he pulls up."
Meanwhile, utility Graham Polak performed better than expected in his first match following the tram accident that almost killed him last June.
Royal said the fact that that Polak was able to play just seven months after his accident that left him with severe head injuries was a promising sign but also admitted that the 24-year-old still has a long way to go.
"Today was a really important step in Graham's rehabilitation and Graham is slowly increasing the amount of training he is doing and also the intensity he is training at," Royal said.
"But he has still got a long way to because he gets very tired easily the longer the game and quarters go, so we are not expecting anything from him certainly in the first part of the season.
Cousins did not appear to be lacking match fitness despite being out of the game for such a long period but Royal said the former West Coast captain won't be risked against the Dockers.
"Our plan all along has been around Ben playing Round 1 against Carlton," he said.
"He definitely won't be playing Round 1 of the NAB Cup because today is the most he has done from a footy point of view and certainly the physicality of the game and the intensity, especially in these (hot) conditions, is something he hasn’t been able to cope with in the last couple of months so we will need to see how he pulls up."
Meanwhile, utility Graham Polak performed better than expected in his first match following the tram accident that almost killed him last June.
Royal said the fact that that Polak was able to play just seven months after his accident that left him with severe head injuries was a promising sign but also admitted that the 24-year-old still has a long way to go.
"Today was a really important step in Graham's rehabilitation and Graham is slowly increasing the amount of training he is doing and also the intensity he is training at," Royal said.
"But he has still got a long way to because he gets very tired easily the longer the game and quarters go, so we are not expecting anything from him certainly in the first part of the season.
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