ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights will resist the urge to rush back highly-promising key position prospect Scott Gumbleton despite a penchant for getting as many games into the next wave of his baby Bombers as quickly as possible.
Gumbleton, who has endured a horrific run of injuries over the past 18 months, made a successful comeback to senior football on Monday when he stepped out for the Bendigo Bombers in their VFL win over Box Hill.
On the prospect of when Gumbleton would return to the Bombers’ senior line-up, Knights hesitated and smiled before replying: “Sooner rather than later”.
However when asked if he was tempted to rush back the No.2 draft pick from the 2006 NAB AFL Draft for Friday night’s clash with the West Coast Eagles, the first-year coach didn’t hesitate.
“No … no, not tempted,” he said.
“He’s a long time off, he played 60 minutes and he’s also played on a Monday and it’s a Friday game so therefore it’s not realistic from a recovery point of view.
“So he’ll line-up for Bendigo on Sunday, and we’ll have a look the following week.”
Gumbleton’s successful return was some good news for the Bombers after they were blown away in the second half by Hawthorn at the weekend.
The prospect of his return in coming weeks is a mouth-watering one for Knights, intent on continuing to mould his young list into a powerhouse of the AFL competition.
“Yeah, I must admit I enjoyed the drive down Middleborough Road yesterday (Monday),” Knights said when asked about Gumbleton’s return.
“He played 60 minutes, he played a mixture of wing and forward. He loped around the ground and got five or six touches early in the game and then in the second quarter he kicked two goals.
“So he got through unscathed, he flew for balls where there were clashes in the air and he came off second-best a couple of times but he got up and trotted off again.
“The way he plays is honest and very technically sound, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s his first game [back], he’s going to fly back into a pack and that’s what he did.
As for this week and the Eagles, Knights said midfielder Jobe Watson was certain to return but Jason Winderlich would miss with a back injury.
“That’s a little bit disappointing because Jason’s moving into some decent form. I thought he used the ball really well against Hawthorn last week,” he said.
When assessing side’s progress at the mid-way point of 2008, Knights said he would liked to have sung the team sung more often but could see the bigger picture – and hoped fans could too.
“[I’m] pleased with the progression of David Myers, Tayte Pears, Bachar Houli, Leroy Jetta’s getting more game time, Henry Slattery, those type of guys,” he said.
“Would I have liked to have won more games? Yes, no doubt about that, no question.
“But, I guess I beneath it all, [I’m] pleased that we are heading in the right direction as a club and it’s all about a tilt at our next premiership, as I’ve always said … at times you’re just going to have to be patient.”
