Nason's mixed emotionsrichmondfc.com.au
By Mic Cullen
Wed 24 February, 2010FOOTY has a never-ending supply of highs and lows, and dreadlocked draftee Ben Nason found both inside an hour of a game he didn't even expect to play.
Nason was stretchered from the ground in Richmond's NAB Cup clash against Hawthorn in Launceston on February 13, after his knee buckled while running for a loose ball.
The 20-year-old admitted he wasn't thinking much as he lay on the ground, but fears of a serious knee injury soon grew.
"It was just so painful when I was laying there, it felt like someone stabbed me in the knee," he said.
"In the changerooms I was a bit upset because I didn't know what to think. I thought it could have been the end of my season.
"But then the doctors said they thought it might not be so bad because it didn't blow up, so I had a bit of confidence when I was having the scans.
"I was still really worried though."
Hyper-extension and a bit of bone bruising was the eventual diagnosis, and Nason - who thought new coach Damien Hardwick might tell him to lose the follicular fashion statement - is a fortnight from resuming full training.
Nason's selection for the game had followed his first week back in training, with a quad strain keeping him from two of the Tigers' four intra-club matches.
He was surprised to say the least.
"I was so excited [when I was picked], I rang mum straight away, and she was excited and rang dad because he was at work," he said.
"But I wasn't nervous at all - I was so pumped, I couldn't believe it."
Taken by the Tigers at pick No.71 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft, Nason had represented SANFL club Central District in the SANFL.
He had earlier crossed from Port Adelaide with the promise of more opportunities, and said that now he had been drafted he planned to make his AFL debut as soon as possible.
Able to play as a midfielder or forward, Nason has worked under forwards coach Danny Daly all summer but has realised he's registered as a defender in the AFL's Dream Team competition.
"I definitely haven't been a defender in quite a long time," he said.
"[Damien sees me as] a small forward - they haven't said one thing about being a defender.
"Everyone's been ringing me saying, 'You're a defender in Dream Team, what's going on?'"
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