05 June 2003 Herald Sun
By MARK ROBINSON
BRILLIANT Richmond ruckman-forward Brad Ottens could be a surprise selection for tomorrow night's emotion-charged clash with the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome.
Speculation is strong that the Tigers will gamble on Ottens being fit to return only 12 weeks after surgery on his lower back.
While Bali hero Jason McCartney will provide plenty of inspiration for the Roos, Ottens could provide a timely boost for Richmond, especially if key defender Darren Gaspar is ruled out.
Gaspar left the track early on Tuesday after twisting his knee.
Tigers football manager Greg Hutchison confirmed last night Ottens was in the mix, but otherwise remained non-committal.
"He'll definitely be discussed," Hutchison said.
"There's plenty of speculation around at the moment and you can speculate as much as you like. I'm not going to commit one way or another.
"Our team will go in at 3.30-4pm on Thursday and people can find out then if Brad Ottens is playing or not."
It was 12 weeks on Tuesday since Ottens went under the knife to repair a prolapsed disc in his back, an injury that severely disrupted the careers of Carlton's Ang Christou and Melbourne's Guy Rigoni.
Ottens, 23, has completed six weeks' rehabilitation, three weeks of training by himself and the past 2 1/2 weeks with the playing group.
"He's going as well as you would hope," Hutchison said.
"Anyone who's seen him in the last two weeks would suggest he's going very, very well.
"Whether or not he plays this week is up to selection."
"The advantage we've got is we can have a good look at training. Danny likes to have the team finalised before the final training session, but we don't need to in this place," Hutchison said.
The Tigers train at Punt Rd from 11am today and Gaspar's performance, if he does train, will determine his availability.
Gaspar, who is playing the sort of football that won him All-Australian honours in 2000-01, left the track on Tuesday 10 minutes before training was completed.
Tigers skipper Wayne Campbell (calf) is expected to be available.THE comeback of Richmond defender Ben Holland has suffered another setback after he was suspended by the VFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.
Holland, who had major knee surgery last year, received a one-match ban for striking Williamstown's Cameron Cloke while playing for Coburg on Sunday.
It was Holland's return game after missing the previous four weeks with a quadricep injury.
The progress of Collingwood veteran Mark Richardson was also stalled when he was suspended for two weeks on a misconduct charge towards Coburg's Dean Talbot in the same match.
Richardson, who missed the first six rounds with a dislocated elbow, has kicked 13 goals, including two five-goal hauls, in his past three games for Williamstown.
By MARK ROBINSON
BRILLIANT Richmond ruckman-forward Brad Ottens could be a surprise selection for tomorrow night's emotion-charged clash with the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome.
Speculation is strong that the Tigers will gamble on Ottens being fit to return only 12 weeks after surgery on his lower back.
While Bali hero Jason McCartney will provide plenty of inspiration for the Roos, Ottens could provide a timely boost for Richmond, especially if key defender Darren Gaspar is ruled out.
Gaspar left the track early on Tuesday after twisting his knee.
Tigers football manager Greg Hutchison confirmed last night Ottens was in the mix, but otherwise remained non-committal.
"He'll definitely be discussed," Hutchison said.
"There's plenty of speculation around at the moment and you can speculate as much as you like. I'm not going to commit one way or another.
"Our team will go in at 3.30-4pm on Thursday and people can find out then if Brad Ottens is playing or not."
It was 12 weeks on Tuesday since Ottens went under the knife to repair a prolapsed disc in his back, an injury that severely disrupted the careers of Carlton's Ang Christou and Melbourne's Guy Rigoni.
Ottens, 23, has completed six weeks' rehabilitation, three weeks of training by himself and the past 2 1/2 weeks with the playing group.
"He's going as well as you would hope," Hutchison said.
"Anyone who's seen him in the last two weeks would suggest he's going very, very well.
"Whether or not he plays this week is up to selection."
"The advantage we've got is we can have a good look at training. Danny likes to have the team finalised before the final training session, but we don't need to in this place," Hutchison said.
The Tigers train at Punt Rd from 11am today and Gaspar's performance, if he does train, will determine his availability.
Gaspar, who is playing the sort of football that won him All-Australian honours in 2000-01, left the track on Tuesday 10 minutes before training was completed.
Tigers skipper Wayne Campbell (calf) is expected to be available.THE comeback of Richmond defender Ben Holland has suffered another setback after he was suspended by the VFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.
Holland, who had major knee surgery last year, received a one-match ban for striking Williamstown's Cameron Cloke while playing for Coburg on Sunday.
It was Holland's return game after missing the previous four weeks with a quadricep injury.
The progress of Collingwood veteran Mark Richardson was also stalled when he was suspended for two weeks on a misconduct charge towards Coburg's Dean Talbot in the same match.
Richardson, who missed the first six rounds with a dislocated elbow, has kicked 13 goals, including two five-goal hauls, in his past three games for Williamstown.
