Ablett welcomes Bennell’s return to football
A spectator as the Gold Coasters recorded a 44 point victory against the GWS Giants last weekend, Bennell is itching to make an immediate impact after being cleared to return to the Clubs top 22 following a two week stint on the sidelines with a hamstring injury suffered in the GC SUNS two point loss to the Brisbane Lions.
Speaking exclusively to GoldCoastfc.com.au Ablett said his charges were looking forward to welcoming the star midfielder back to the senior team.
“We’ve been missing him a lot out there, in particularly the run he gives our boys,” said Ablett.
“He trained well on Wednesday and after the session I asked him how he pulled up and he said he was fine, so it’ll be great to have him back on the weekend and hopefully do some damage for us on the scoreboard.”
The exciting 20-year-old, who capped off a brilliant pre-season campaign which included the Polly Farmer Medal for his best-on-field performance during the All Stars clash in Alice Springs says he’s looking forward to lacing up the boots and getting back into the thick of the action after missing the last two games.
“It certainly wasn’t ideal missing the past two weeks, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there alongside Gaz and the rest of the boys and hopefully I can help secure another win after the boy’s impressive victory in Canberra,” said Bennell.
Bennell was forced to undergo a series of stringent tests on his hamstring before being cleared by the Clubs High performance manager Stephen Schwerdt.
“The hamstring is feeling pretty good, I’ve been doing a lot of running this week and Stephen Schwerdt has been satisfied with my progress so as far as I’m concerned to fit and ready to go.”
With the defensive-minded Dockers among the competition leaders in tackles (2nd), Bennell said the GC SUNS would need to make the most of their opportunities.
“We can’t afford to make too many mistakes against them, otherwise they will rebound the ball quickly and punish us on the scoreboard,” Bennell said.
“They’ve shown so far this season that they’re going to be genuine finals contenders, so if we can knock them off it’ll be a massive boost of confidence for us as a group.”