WEST Perth coach Bill Monaghan has revealed talented big man Nick Rodda went into last year’s WAFL grand final with a fractured leg.
The Falcons’ longest-serving mentor described Rodda’s hampered inclusion as one of “a couple of interesting choices” regarding injury issues in the heavy defeat to Subiaco.
The side also included Rodda’s tenacious teammate Laine Rasmussen, who was carrying a serious ankle injury that underwent a complete reconstruction after the season.
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READ NOW“The grand final team, we made a couple of interesting choices,” he said.
“We played Rasmussen and Rodda had a fracture in his leg from four or five weeks before.
“So there’s a couple of injury issues that if we had our time again we probably would have done differently.”
But he said both players had recovered over the summer, with Rodda set for the league side and Rasmussen to be eased back through the reserves.
The 66-point grand final loss became a costly one for the club off the field too.
The WA Football Commission fined the club $10,000 for a player mistakenly wearing one of West Perth’s Channel 9-emblazoned jumpers for a brief moment before the game.
The jumpers were banned from Channel 7 coverage.
The club was required to pay $2500 of the penalty with $7500 suspended.
More on West Perth pre-season:
– Excitement builds for WAFL season opener
– Advice from Kevin Sheedy ahead of opener
– Coach Bill Monaghan describes disappointment over Shane Nelson fight injury