Simmonds chance for Richmond recall
24 June 2007 Sunday Herald Sun
Howard Leigh
TIGER Troy Simmonds ... made [a] successful comeback from injury in the VFL seniors ... at North Ballarat yesterday.
Simmonds, 28, successfully negotiated 60 minutes of football after being sidelined with a serious ankle injury since the Round 6 match against Geelong.
Staking a claim for a recall for Saturday night's clash against St Kilda at Telstra Dome, he amassed 11 possessions, six handballs, six marks and 15 effective hitouts.
But his return was not enough to lift the Coburg Tigers to victory over North Ballarat, the home side winning 16.16 (112) to 13.14 (92).
"I felt really good and I didn't feel any pain from my right ankle, which I fractured during preseason in January," Simmonds said. "Hopefully, I will get a game next week."
Simmonds said there was a positive feeling in the rooms before the game in the wake of Richmond's Friday night win against the Demons.
"All the boys were feeling good, but we were not able to translate it out on the field," he said.
"We were too undisciplined and gave away too many free kicks."
Coburg coach Andy Collins said he had no doubt Simmonds would quickly claim a place back in the Richmond side.
"He was a dominant big man on the ground," Collins said. "I'm sure if we had him on the field for the duration of the game it might have been a different result."
Richmond first-year player Jack Riewoldt, 18, had 23 possessions and 13 marks after starting at centre half-back and moving into the forward line.
Discarded Richmond forward Kent Kingsley finished with 3.1 from nine possessions at full-forward, but made a crucial turnover 11 minutes into the final quarter when his side was three points behind and had all the momentum.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21956516%255E19742,00.html