bornadog
17-07-2012, 04:46 PM
Link (http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/141739/default.aspx)
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/mmsalih/1_TR100712LC142-1.jpg
WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney hasn't ruled out the prospect of resting the Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney for the last part of the season.
The Bulldogs will be without Cooney for a third consecutive week with knee soreness when they take on Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Given the degenerative nature of the 26-year-old's knee problem, coupled with the fact the Bulldogs are 14th and out of finals contention, it seems logical the Bulldogs would consider putting Cooney on ice for the rest of the season to enable him to start afresh in 2013, and perhaps maximise the time he has left in the game.
Click here to view Cooney's career stats
McCartney was non-committal on the concept, but didn’t reject it either.
"There's still a lot to be played out with that," he said at Whitten Oval on Tuesday.
"(There's) still seven weeks to go and the last thing on our mind is looking at next year. We want to play better footy than we've played and we want all of our list to keep progressing and learning how we want them to play and keep working on their individual games, and Adam's part of that."
Pressed further on the idea of resting Cooney, McCartney said: "Possibly."
One senior Bulldog who will probably return, according to the coach, is veteran Daniel Giansiracusa, after recovering from a stress-related foot injury.
If he proves his fitness for the clash with the Blues, Giansiracusa - the Dogs' equal-leading goalkicker this season with Shaun Higgins on 18 - will return up to a fortnight ahead of schedule.
"He's brought his length of absence forward with some really good rehab, which is a good example to the younger players," McCartney said.
"The rest has worked. It needed a rest - it was inflamed and it was a pretty sore foot. He probably played two weeks too long with it, which seasoned players have a way of doing (because) they feel they need to be out there helping younger teammates."
The Bulldogs will also be without defender Lukas Markovic, who has suffered another hamstring injury, the seriousness of which will be confirmed by scans on Tuesday.
McCartney also elaborated on his post-match observation - made after his side's 72-point loss to Hawthorn on Sunday - that some experienced Bulldogs had at times been guilty of "walking around aimlessly".
"What I meant (by) 'aimlessly' was there are times in a game where there's another stoppage, well set the stoppage up; if you've lost possession of the ball, get on your opponent or a free opponent; and if you have the ball in your hands and we need to get the ball moving and you’re in the way, get out of the way so that someone else can get in there; or if you're the free player, get busy and draw the ball," he said.
"It was an apt description of what happened to some of our players."
McCartney said he wants his team to win more contested ball - the Hawks beat them 156-116 in this area - and move it quicker against Carlton.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/mmsalih/1_TR100712LC142-1.jpg
WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney hasn't ruled out the prospect of resting the Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney for the last part of the season.
The Bulldogs will be without Cooney for a third consecutive week with knee soreness when they take on Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Given the degenerative nature of the 26-year-old's knee problem, coupled with the fact the Bulldogs are 14th and out of finals contention, it seems logical the Bulldogs would consider putting Cooney on ice for the rest of the season to enable him to start afresh in 2013, and perhaps maximise the time he has left in the game.
Click here to view Cooney's career stats
McCartney was non-committal on the concept, but didn’t reject it either.
"There's still a lot to be played out with that," he said at Whitten Oval on Tuesday.
"(There's) still seven weeks to go and the last thing on our mind is looking at next year. We want to play better footy than we've played and we want all of our list to keep progressing and learning how we want them to play and keep working on their individual games, and Adam's part of that."
Pressed further on the idea of resting Cooney, McCartney said: "Possibly."
One senior Bulldog who will probably return, according to the coach, is veteran Daniel Giansiracusa, after recovering from a stress-related foot injury.
If he proves his fitness for the clash with the Blues, Giansiracusa - the Dogs' equal-leading goalkicker this season with Shaun Higgins on 18 - will return up to a fortnight ahead of schedule.
"He's brought his length of absence forward with some really good rehab, which is a good example to the younger players," McCartney said.
"The rest has worked. It needed a rest - it was inflamed and it was a pretty sore foot. He probably played two weeks too long with it, which seasoned players have a way of doing (because) they feel they need to be out there helping younger teammates."
The Bulldogs will also be without defender Lukas Markovic, who has suffered another hamstring injury, the seriousness of which will be confirmed by scans on Tuesday.
McCartney also elaborated on his post-match observation - made after his side's 72-point loss to Hawthorn on Sunday - that some experienced Bulldogs had at times been guilty of "walking around aimlessly".
"What I meant (by) 'aimlessly' was there are times in a game where there's another stoppage, well set the stoppage up; if you've lost possession of the ball, get on your opponent or a free opponent; and if you have the ball in your hands and we need to get the ball moving and you’re in the way, get out of the way so that someone else can get in there; or if you're the free player, get busy and draw the ball," he said.
"It was an apt description of what happened to some of our players."
McCartney said he wants his team to win more contested ball - the Hawks beat them 156-116 in this area - and move it quicker against Carlton.