Corio coach Joel Bennett has described himself as “like a kid waiting for Christmas” after declaring himself fit for Saturday’s GDFNL season-opener against Anakie at Shell Reserve.
The 2023 Whitley medallist hasn’t played since being hospitalised following an on-field collision in the Round 6 draw with Inverleigh on May 11 last year.
Bennett, who will fly solo as the Devils’ mentor, suffered three spinal fractures and spent several days in Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital.
“I had a few people ask me how I’ve been this week,” Bennett said at last night’s GDFNL season launch.
“Looking back over the journey and to get here finally, all those little mundane sessions and that that I’ve done on my own, all that swimming and where I’ve just sort of been in my head dreaming about getting back out there and that’s all going to be a reality on Saturday at 2pm.
“I’m pretty excited.”
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Bennett says it hasn’t been all smooth sailing.
“It’s been a build,” he said “I’ve actually sort of set the program and that up with Sammy Rice, my physio, and the specialist, sort of over the last few months.
“I’ve gradually built it up, done a little bit of match practice early in the new year and copped a couple of knocks and (that) sort of set me back a little bit
“But then we pulled it back a little bit and then just built it up gradually.
“I got through the practice matches fine, copped a few knocks in the Sunshine Heights game, which was a good little test and yeah, I pulled up pretty well from it all,
“Now I’m feeling good.”
After wins and a draw in the opening eight rounds of 2024, Corio lost its last ten matches, ‘winning’ the wooden spoon when it was blown away by Geelong West in the second half of their Round 18 meeting at West Oval.
However, with recruits Justin van Unen, Russell Cowan, and Jarrod Bayliss to debut, big man Jack Green injury free and Team of the Year forward Herschelle Carr back after missing the final five matches of the year, Bennett is confident the Devils can start 2025 on the right foot against the Roos.
“Our pre-season’s been good, our practice match form’s been pretty good, so there’s certainly no reason from our end why we can’t win the game,” he said.
“It will set the mood a little bit, I guess. But you know, at the end of the day it is only Round 1 and there’s 17 games to go after it.
“So if the result wasn’t to go our way, yeah, we’ll review it and go from there.”
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