By Lance Jenkinson
Boom recruit Jack Redpath will be ready to hit the ground running for reigning premier Deer Park in the Western Region Football League division 1.
The former Western Bulldogs spearhead was forced to retire from AFL football at the end last season due to a knee injury.
After 36 games and 57 goals in the AFL, Redpath felt his knee was not up to the rigours of AFL football, prematurely retiring at the age of 27.
The good news for Deer Park fans is that his rehabilitation from knee surgery is complete and he is ready to begin training again.
“From my discussions with him, he had his MRI cleared last week and has been given the green light to start training,” Lions’ coach Marc Bullen said. “He’s told me he wants to rip into it from the commencement of pre-season.”
One of Deer Park’s strengths in its record-breaking run of six consecutive premierships has been its ability to manage the workloads of players.
The Lions will undoubtedly urge Redpath to move forth cautiously, however Bullen will trust him to manage his training schedule.
“Jack knows his body,” Bullen said. “He was in the Bulldogs’ leadership team, so knows what to do and when to do it.”
Redpath will be the focal point of a star- studded forward line. If Redpath can click with mainstay Jase Perkins, who kicked 68 goals last campaign, and James Wong, another proven goalkicker, it will be a nightmare for opposition defenders.
“They will form a pretty formidable combination,” Bullen said. “Hopefully they can share the goalscoring load between them.
“There will be an abundance of marking power down there.”
Even though Redpath has proven himself at the top level with the Bulldogs and dominated locally with Kyneton in the Bendigo Football League, going to the six-time reigning premiers Deer Park will have a new set of pressures.
“If anything, he’s a bit nervous coming into the football because he knows how successful we’ve been,” Bullen said. “He wants to make sure that he impacts, which I’m sure he will.”
Redpath is not the only big name to arrive at Deer Park.
Daniel Harris, who played 160 AFL games with North Melbourne and Gold Coast Suns, and Damien Cavka, once on the West Coast Eagles’ list, have also joined for the premiership defence.
Harris has played mainly as a half-forward since returning to local football, while Cavka will bolster the Lions’ midfield.
Rumours of Redpath’s former Bulldogs teammate Shane Biggs joining Deer Park have been quashed. North Heidelberg announced late last week Biggs had signed with them.
“Our recruitment books are well and truly closed,” Bullen said. “We won’t be signing any more players.”
