Greg Denham
February 16, 2006
The Australian
RICHMOND remains confident its best forward Nathan Brown will play in the Tigers' season opener against the Western Bulldogs on March 31, despite limited match practice.
Brown broke his right leg in two places when Melbourne defender Matthew Whelan accidentally fell across him in a smother attempt in round 10 last year and will resume with a titanium rod in his leg.
The 28-year-old, now in his third season with the Tigers after 137 games with the Bulldogs, started his comeback when he resumed running last September.
Richmond football manager Paul Armstrong yesterday ruled Brown out of the pre-season NAB Cup, but was hopeful he would get at least one practice match before the end of next month.
"He's doing the whole lot now, apart from full competitive work," Armstrong said. "There are no problems, he's on track and he'll start to build up soon. He wants to go now, but we're taking a conservative approach."
Brown booted 34 goals in 10 games last year before sustaining the horrific injury.
At the time of his injury, the Tigers were sitting fourth on the ladder with seven wins. They won three of their remaining 12 games to finish 12th.
Coach Terry Wallace had previously said he did not expect Brown to be back to his best form until 2007.
"For me, anything he does, he'll do better the year after," Wallace said. "We expect to get him back but do you expect him to be back to where he was, kicking five goals on (Collingwood defender) James Clement in one quarter?"
Meanwhile, veteran Hawthorn key forward John Barker is expected to play in tomorrow's intra-club practice match after a recent injury scare, and the Hawks are confident he will be available for the start of the season proper.
A series of leg injuries have restricted Barker since 2001 when he was the Hawks' leading goalkicker with a personal-best tally of 47.
Barker, 31, has missed 49 games since, and played in just six senior matches last year.
On a one-year contract, Barker recently missed a fortnight of competitive work with what club football manager Mark Evans described as a "minor shoulder injury".
"His legs, his groin mainly, have been his problem and we put him through a rigorous three-month program before Christmas and he passed," Evans said. "So we're confident of getting a full season out of him and of him giving us flexibility up forward."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18160544%255E2722,00.html
