Bell Post Hill could be boosted by the return of club great Caleb Bacely ahead of the upcoming GDFNL interleague break.
Bacely, a veteran of 257 games with the Panthers, hasn’t played since the Round 1 win over Geelong West after fracturing three toes in his right foot, which doubles as his preferred kicking foot.
The six-time premiership player is eyeing off the Hill’s meeting with Thomson on May 30 as his first game back – a better outcome than he expected after a sports doctor organised a consultation with a surgeon.
“The sports doc put a bit of fear in me, sending me to the surgeon,” Bacely said. “It didn’t look good there for a while.
“But all’s well. They healed up well. They weren’t displaced or anything like that.
“I’ve been in the moon boot for four or five weeks. I just got out of that a week ago, and I’m back into running now, which is good.
“I’ve just got to integrate some kicking and change of direction.”
Bacely self-diagnosed the injury, which happened when he tripped over a tangle of legs with a Giants opponent, as “just a sprain”.
But when it failed to improve after a couple of weeks, he suspected something more sinister.
“It wasn’t getting much better, so I thought I’d better get a scan,” Bacely said.
“Sure enough, three fractured toes. So, a bit of a weird one.
“I’m not used to missing so much footy. Especially the last few seasons, I’ve been pretty fortunate with injuries.”
After opening the season with consecutive wins over West and Anakie, Bell Post Hill dropped games to the still unbeaten Werribee Centrals and the improving Bannockburn.
However, the Panthers have clicked into gear in the past fortnight, taking care of reigning premier North Geelong and Winchelsea.
“Those two weeks (against Werribee Centrals and Bannockburn, we just didn’t come to play, and we learnt the hard way that if you don’t come to play, you’re not going to win too many games, especially with how even the comp is,” Bacely said
“So it was good to bounce back the last couple of weeks.
“We just need to keep it going. It’s the middle part of this season now; you can’t rest on your laurels.”
X: @krockfootball
