Jurrah classy on return
Jurrah classy on returnLiam Jurrah breezes through his return to football, but all is not well for a Demon recruit
MELBOURNE star Liam Jurrah has returned to football in fashionable style, looking sharp in getting through his first game of 2012 for the Casey Scorpions in the VFL.
Jurrah, so used to being the headline act for the Demons, shared the spotlight with fellow regular AFL teammate Jack Watts in a comfortable win against Geelong at Simonds Stadium on Saturday.
The outing came after an off-season of problems for Jurrah. First he was sidelined with a wrist injury, then he made national headlines after an incident in the Northern Territory which resulted in his arrest.
He is due to face court on May 17 via video link from Melbourne.
Jurrah was all class early with six touches in the first quarter, but had less impact as the game went on. He played as a key forward and looked good with the ball in his hands, but seemed to struggle to make second and third efforts. He kicked a nice snap goal in the last quarter.
Another youngster getting used to media coverage impressed on debut.
Jack Viney, son of Melbourne great Todd, looked every bit the star he is touted to be before his day turned into a nightmare with the 18-year-old taken to hospital with a suspected broken jaw.
Viney was joined by the unlucky Jordan Gysberts, who also sustained a suspected broken jaw.
Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney confirmed the suspected injuries after the game.
The suspected injury to Viney came 10 minutes into the final quarter after he received a heavy bump from Geelong veteran David Wojcinski.
Gysberts was injured in his first contest of the game after coming off the bench and clashing with a Geelong player.
It was a disappointing result for both, with Viney impressing the Demons throughout the game.
"He (Viney) competed really hard throughout the game and his in-close stoppage work was really good," said Mahoney.
Gysberts - the Demons' No.11 pick from 2009 - was returning for his first game since being sidelined with an ankle injury. He has had no luck in 2012.
"It's unfortunate for Jordan," said Mahoney. "He just returned back to the team after having a layoff with an ankle injury and [it] was almost his first contest for the game."
Mahoney said Jurrah performed as expected.
"Liam got into the game straight away and ran around and got his hands on the ball, which is all we wanted out of this game so [it was] a good hit out for Liam first up," said Mahoney.
Watts - the No.1 draft pick from 2008 who was dropped to the VFL - kicked four goals playing on a wing and drifting forward. He worked hard and looked classy at times, picking up 20 possessions. His last quarter was very good and he converted a goal after taking a nice one-handed mark.
More importantly he impressed Mahoney with his contested work and pressure around the ball.
"[He] got the ball in his hands a lot, had 20 possessions and kicked four goals," said Mahoney.
"Some of his pressure work around the ball was good. He got involved in a few tackles. [It was a] good performance."
Casey ran out 46-point winners against the second-placed Geelong VFL side.