Nathan Foley [merged]

[WilliamPowell]

Axel has missed most the preseason and still is in the rehab group. Hard to see him being ready for round 1 when he is so underdone even if the ankle were to come good.

Even if he is ready by round 1 should he play seeing he wont have any match conditioning at all?

We've been caught out some many times with playing guys not properly fit at the start of season

Dont think we need to do it this time

[blaisee]

I am happy to reveal that foley has turned the corner on his rehab. All things going well he will be available for senior selection by round 4

[mightytiges]

I am happy to reveal that foley has turned the corner on his rehab. All things going well he will be available for senior selection by round 4

Ta blaisee. Fingers crossed his ankle comes good .

It's hard to see him having a major impact this year anyway with no preseason so hopefully he can get his ankle right, play most of the games after round 4 and get through this year unscathed so he's right to do a full preseason in readiness for 2011.

[peggles]

I am happy to reveal that foley has turned the corner on his rehab. All things going well he will be available for senior selection by round 4

Ta blaisee. Fingers crossed his ankle comes good .

It's hard to see him having a major impact this year anyway with no preseason so hopefully he can get his ankle right, play most of the games after round 4 and get through this year unscathed so he's right to do a full preseason in readiness for 2011.

too right.  success is not paramount for us this year.  important thing is development.  foley can take as long as he needs to get back, no rush.  we don't want the ankle to be a chronic problem.  get it right now and get back when he's fully ready unlike last season when he had to play half hurt.

[one-eyed]

Foley on comeback trail

Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 3:24 PM
Source: BigPond Sport
By Ben Broad

RICHMOND midfielder Nathan Foley hopes he won’t miss a significant chunk of the AFL season despite not yet having played a match during his club’s 2010 campaign.

The Tigers vice-captain has been battling an ankle injury since mid-way through last season but thinks he is on the road to recovery after opting for further surgery early this year.

Foley has resumed running three times a week but is yet to set himself a goal of when he might return to the senior line-up.

“It’s probably becoming very doubtful for round one, obviously but with the way it’s progressing hopefully it won’t be too far after that,” Foley told BigPond Sports Weekend.

“I’ll certainly pick it up in the next couple of weeks and see how it responds and if all goes well it shouldn’t be too far away.”

The 24-year-old, who was restricted to 14 matches in 2009, had hoped to be ready to make a big impression under new coach Damien Hardwick.

But the nagging ankle complaint has taken longer to mend than first thought.

“I had a few minor complications, I suppose, over the pre-season and I was having a few problems pre- and just post-Christmas,” he said.

“I decided to go back under the knife and they found some stuff in there which [they removed and that] has certainly made a big difference.

“I’m certainly starting to improve … It’s been incredibly frustrating, especially with the whole new coaching group coming in and a new game plan.

“I’ve been edging to get out there but unfortunately that’s football at times. I suppose importantly now it’s starting to progress.”

Richmond wrapped up its pre-season preparations with a disappointing 74-point loss to Essendon on Saturday.

Despite those form woes, Foley is optimistic about his team’s upcoming year.

He acknowledges the Tigers were burdened by the weight of expectation ahead of last year’s round one clash with Carlton but says this year there will be no such load.

“There was a huge build-up with the anticipation of Ben Cousins and also both teams coming in with similar seasons from the season before, so it was a huge build-up,” Foley said.

“I think with that build-up and then to come out and get beaten convincingly in the first quarter, it might have flattened us a bit and we just didn’t find our feet again after that.

“But there’s a really good feeling coming into this year … we’ve got a lot of new blokes at the club, so they’re obviously very excited and we’ve had a whole transformation of our coaching staff and sort of got new structures in place … it’s an exciting time at Richmond at the moment.”

http://www.bigpondsport.com/news/tabid/281/newsid/42971/foley-on-comeback-trail/default.aspx

[Mr Magic]

Get well soon Axe.
Heaven knows we need you.

[WA Tiger]

Get well soon Axe.
Heaven knows we need you.

Amen to that!!

[RedanTiger]

“It’s probably becoming very doubtful for round one, obviously but with the way it’s progressing hopefully it won’t be too far after that,” Foley told BigPond Sports Weekend.

“I’ll certainly pick it up in the next couple of weeks and see how it responds and if all goes well it shouldn’t be too far away.”

http://www.bigpondsport.com/news/tabid/281/newsid/42971/foley-on-comeback-trail/default.aspx

So if theres no problem he may start full training Round 1 or 2. Geez Richmond, stop mucking about. Leave Foley on the LTIL for the first four weeks and allow someone to come off the rookie list. There is absolutely NO RUSH that's how we got to this problem in the first place.

[Smokey]

“It’s probably becoming very doubtful for round one, obviously but with the way it’s progressing hopefully it won’t be too far after that,” Foley told BigPond Sports Weekend.

“I’ll certainly pick it up in the next couple of weeks and see how it responds and if all goes well it shouldn’t be too far away.”

http://www.bigpondsport.com/news/tabid/281/newsid/42971/foley-on-comeback-trail/default.aspx

So if theres no problem he may start full training Round 1 or 2. Geez Richmond, stop mucking about. Leave Foley on the LTIL for the first four weeks and allow someone to come off the rookie list. There is absolutely NO RUSH that's how we got to this problem in the first place.

Isn't there a minimum of 8 weeks or something like that for the LTIL?

[mightytiges]

You're right smokey. A injured player must be on the LTIL for a minimum of 8 weeks.

“I’ll certainly pick it up in the next couple of weeks and see how it responds and if all goes well it shouldn’t be too far away.”

Given he hasn't "picked up" training yet and has missed the whole preseason he must be at least a month  away bare minimum surely.

There's no reason whatsoever to rush back Foley given it's a development ("transformation") year. Just make sure when he does comes back he's 100% so he doesn't break down again. If that means a middle of the season return then so be it.

[Infamy]

LTIL also means he can't play at Coburg either. So putting him on it now would mean he can't even get match fitness at a lower level until about Round 8

[Stripes]

How old is Foley now - is he 24? Still a young player with many more years of good football left in him. If he can find fitness and form he will be a great addition to our midfield of Lids, Bling, Cotch, Martin and Vickery. That is 6 quality players that could be playing together for many exciting years to come.

Now we just need some of our second tier midfielders to step up such as Thomson, Collins, Nason, Connors, Cotin and co and we will be hard to beat coming out of the middle. Not sure where Jackson, White, Polo and Tuck fit in the equation though....

Stripes

[one-eyed]

From Greg Denham in today's Australian...


Richmond's quickest midfielder, Foley, is not likely to return until May. After breaking down with an ankle injury in round 14 last year against Adelaide at the Gold Coast, he required further surgery in January.

Tigers general manager of football operations Craig Cameron said yesterday Foley may need to have a match-conditioning game in the VFL before being considered for his senior comeback.

"He's turned the corner, but it's still slow going," Cameron said of Foley's rehabilitation.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/richmonds-debutants-take-to-the-stage/story-e6frg7mf-1225842562988

[Stripes]

From Greg Denham in today's Australian...


Richmond's quickest midfielder, Foley, is not likely to return until May. After breaking down with an ankle injury in round 14 last year against Adelaide at the Gold Coast, he required further surgery in January.

Tigers general manager of football operations Craig Cameron said yesterday Foley may need to have a match-conditioning game in the VFL before being considered for his senior comeback.

"He's turned the corner, but it's still slow going," Cameron said of Foley's rehabilitation.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/richmonds-debutants-take-to-the-stage/story-e6frg7mf-1225842562988

How does he get May from Cameron's comment?! These things always take longer than expected to recover from but surely May is very conservative wouldn't you say.....

[one-eyed]

Foley's charging back
Herald Sun
04-04-2010, Pg: 049


Nathan Foley is poised to make his long-awaited comeback from serious ankle surgery ahead of schedule next weekend.

In a boost for the Tigers, the tough clearance specialist has improved markedly over the past month and moved freely at training again.

Barring setbacks, Richmond football operations manager Ross Monaghan said Foley would line up in the VFL reserves for Coburg on Sunday.

If all goes to plan, the Tigers' vice-captain could be available for senior selection for the club's Round 6 clash against premier Geelong.

"He's really come on in leaps and bounds in the past month or so," Monaghan told the Sunday Herald Sun.

"He has worked really hard and, all going well, will play about a half of footy next weekend and begin to build his match fitness."

Foley, 24,had complicated ankle surgery after Round 14 last season. He went under the knife again in January after complaining of soreness.

He is a central cog in Richmond's onball brigade and led the club's best and fairest count before his season-ending injury.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-deny-cards-are-marked-for-shane-tuck-or-jordan-mcmahon/story-e6frf9jf-1225849263231