MELBOURNE elite performance manager David Misson has praised veteran Bernie Vince for his instant on-field impact, after five weeks on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
Vince played a key role in the VFL preliminary final win for Casey with 22 touches and a goal, finishing the game with no lasting issues from his shoulder concern.
“[It was] an incredible effort to basically play the whole second half without a rest,” Misson told Melbourne Media.
“He played big minutes after not having played for five weeks – probably playing three weeks before we thought he might after an AC joint operation.
“He was fantastic – pulled up pretty well, a little bit achey after the game, but structurally he was fine. So, it’s really just the rest of his body recovering from a game of footy in his first game in five weeks.”
Misson said Melbourne came out of the semi-final win unscathed on the injury front, with a careful approach taken on training loads for several players.
“It was a really tough, contested game, but being the Friday night, we gave them most of the weekend off to recover. They came back [on Monday], just to do a little session,” Misson said.
“As was reported, we had a few boys who didn’t go outside, it’s more just getting them ready for main training, none of them are in doubt.
“Max (Gawn), Alex Neal-Bullen and ‘Jetts’ (Neville Jetta) – they’ll all train [on Wednesday].”
In other positive news, Misson confirmed that defender Jake Lever, who suffered an ACL injury in June, had begun running again.
“Jake Lever has also started his running program, so he’s probably looking at a couple of weeks on the AlterG treadmill, but had his first run yesterday and pulled up really well,” Misson said.
Ahead of the preliminary final against West Coast this Saturday, Misson said the experience of travelling to Perth in round 22 was a huge advantage.
“I suppose we’re lucky that we played at the same venue at the same time three to four weeks ago, so we’ve got a pretty identical schedule going over to Perth,” Misson said.
Misson’s injury assessments: preliminary final
Bernie Vince – available
“An incredible effort, to basically play the whole second half without a rest; he played big minutes after not having played for five weeks, over and above probably playing three weeks before we thought he might after an AC joint operation. He was fantastic, pulled up pretty well, a little bit achey after the game, but structurally he was fine. So, it’s really just the rest of his body recovering from a game of footy in his first game in five weeks.”
Dean Kent (shoulder) – season
“Dean had an operation again on an AC joint last week. He’s now out of the sling and starting to get a bit more range. He’s due to be a dad next week, so he’s hoping that shoulder will be a little bit better to help his partner out.”
Lever (knee) – season
“Jake Lever has also started his running program, so he’s probably looking at a couple of weeks on the AlterG treadmill but had his first run yesterday and pulled up really well.”
Oskar Baker (hamstring) – season
“Yeah Oscar did that hamstring, trying to push himself up for the prelim, unfortunately again he’s probably a couple of weeks short of where we though, but Oscar and us decided to roll the dice a bit, which didn’t come up trumps. But he’s going ok, he’ll probably start to have a run next week.”
Melbourne injury list: preliminary final
Oskar Baker (hamstring) – season
Lochie Filipovic (hand) – season
Jesse Hogan (foot) – season
Dean Kent (AC joint) – season
Jake Lever (knee) – season
Corey Maynard (hip) – season
Billy Stretch (toe) – season
Bernie Vince (AC joint) – available
