JARRAD Redden is ready to return - after more than ten weeks on the sidelines, the giant ruck / forward is champing at the bit to have his first competitive hit-out since the first round of the SANFL season.
“I tweaked my hammy the week after that,” he explains of his extended absence from football, “and my hammy recovered but I picked up tendonitis and it’s a been a case of getting back into training and playing.”
The coaches took the unusual step of not sending Redden straight back to Woodville-West Torrens once he was fit again, but head fitness coach Cam Falloon instead placed him into a long-term training program where his fitness was built up on the track rather than by playing games of football.
“I kept having small little niggles,” Redden says, “and it was best for me to take a bit of time off from training and playing and have a larger block of training where I could build my fitness by doing a lot of long-distance running.”
While this dedicated block of training has been about building up Redden’s fitness base in order for him to run out games, his competitive training workload has been reduced somewhat with the occasional stint against fellow returning ruckman Matthew Lobbe, who was struck down during preseason by a serious shoulder injury.
Like Lobbe, Redden admits it’s been hard to watch from the sidelines.
“You get the feeling that you want to be out there and helping them,” he admits. “By playing the first 2 NAB Cup games for the year I got my hopes up that I was getting a bit closer to hopefully getting a game for the Power.”
While the long-term lay-off has been a set-back for both young ruckmen on the Power list, it has allowed them to watch and learn from the ruckmen in the league, particularly watching tireless warrior Dean Brogan lead the way for the Power.
“I think he’s been outstanding. He’s been one of our most important players and he’s lead quite well. For his age and how his body had been I think he’s doing remarkably well, managing his body to get the most out of it.
“He’s obviously gone through how I should come up against other opponents - especially for the Richmond game in the NAB [Challenge], he helped me work out different techniques to bring to the game.”
Having not played a competitive game of football for half of 2011, Redden - recruited by the Power from the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles with pick #54 overall in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft - is looking to the second half of the year to build a base for 2012 and beyond.
“I’ve got no doubt that I’ve got the skills to play ruck in the AFL,” Redden asserts with confidence. “Fitness is still something I can work on, but it’s come a long way from where I was, and I definitely feel confident I can step up.”
