Lifeline: former Cat Kent Kingsley trains with Richmond. Picture: Michael Dodge
Kent Kingsley punt
09 November 2006 Herald-Sun
Bruce Matthews
RICHMOND has granted Geelong discard Kent Kingsley an opportunity to press for an AFL restart.
Kingsley was given no guarantees with the offer to join the Tigers' pre-season training.
The four-times Cats leading goalkicker and traded Fremantle key position player Graham Polak were the new boys when coach Terry Wallace brought the entire list together yesterday to officially start preparations for the 2007 season.
Kingsley's management contacted Richmond football director Greg Miller to find a summer training base for the 28-year-old former Cat.
"We'll have a look at him over this period of time. Give him an opportunity to train with the group," Wallace said yesterday.
"We haven't made any decisions at this stage. We've got four or five other guys from our affiliate club Coburg down as well.
"I'm not really big on bringing people in just for the sake of it. For their sake as well as ours, you've got to think they're some chance of being able to get there (be drafted).
"I had spoken to him prior to going away and I was comfortable bringing him in to see where he's at."
Kingsley and Polak are in a group, including Matthew Richardson, Darren Gaspar and Nathan Brown, which is a couple of weeks in fitness behind the younger players who have been working with assistant coach Brian Royal.
Polak finished near the back of the field in a time trial around the 3.8km Tan circuit surrounding the Botanical Gardens. And, while Wallace conceded he has considerable work to do on fitness, he's buoyed by the ex-Docker's intent to fully utilise his height and one-grab skills.
"My initial thoughts are that we will play him down back. But I think he can play either end which he has for most of his career," the coach said.
"I suppose we've been light on for tall backs and that has been pretty well documented over a long period of time.
"Had we not gone down that (trading) path, we would've certainly had to go to the table at draft time and get one. And sometimes it takes three or four years to develop them.
"So to get someone who's 22, who had done that first initial period of development, is a bonus. I think whatever he brings over the next 12 months, he's a long-term project.
"He still has a lot of work to do with his fitness base. But he has been here a week now and has shown real enthusiasm."
Left-footer Cameron Howat, who came off the rookie list to play five senior games late this season, was the runaway winner of the Tan lap before the players returned to Punt Road Oval for 45 minutes of ball drills.
"This year we had 14 players who ran under 14 minutes and last year we had four. You don't run around saying they've come back better than ever, but . . . we're reasonably pleased," Wallace said.
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