Jack Redden is the first to admit his formative months at West Coast haven’t gone exactly to plan.
Despite undergoing surgery for a niggling adductor injury last August, the dogged inside midfielder had high hopes of getting on the track and making an impression on his new teammates.
Resigned to light duties before Christmas to protect his healing body, Redden’s highly anticipated debut with the senior group was again put on ice when doctors recommended a second surgery to sure up his troublesome hip injury.
The Redden file: Everything you need to know about Jack Redden
“That’s all fixed up now and I’m on the mend,” Redden said.
“West Coast has been very good; they’ve been proactive about my rehab and sending me to different specialists to find out what’s wrong and now we are on top of it. I think I am about 4-6 weeks off full training.”
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Redden has embraced his time on the sidelines, using it to familiarise himself with the Eagles’ style of footy.
“It has been a good opportunity to get my head around the education, sit down with the coaches and work out the game plan, my role and structures,” Redden said.
“Eventually when I come into training I will be able to slot in and pick things up pretty quickly.”
While Redden misses the camaraderie that comes with training, he is more than happy to be a lone wolf in the rehab quarters.
Redden said in his eight years of playing top flight footy he had never seen so many teammates fit and taking part in preseason training.
“The team is going really well,” he said.
“Since I’ve been involved in the AFL it’s pretty rare to get all the boys on the track at this time of the year. Usually there are a few in rehab and there are a few injuries lingering.
“The club is going really well and the boys are training really well. The training standards have been awesome. It’s impressive to watch.”
Redden would love nothing more than to be available for West Coast’s round one clash with Brisbane, but that would all depend on how his body recuperates.
A consistent, injury-free season was atop the new recruit’s wish list for 2016.
If he was to grace Domain Stadium’s hallowed turf in the opening fixture, Redden expected to get some special attention from a few former teammates.
“I was good mates with Tommy Rockliff and he’s a bit of a chatter, so I’m sure he will be saying a few words,” Redden said.
“He’s a bit of a turbo on the field. I was also good mates with Dayne Beams, so I’m sure they’ll get around me. Hopefully we have a win and there won’t be much talk from that side.”
