Injured Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton says he is eyeing a return to the action after the upcoming AFL bye.
Naughton suffered a moderate grade medial ligament injury to his right knee in the Round 12 loss to Sydney, sidelining him for up to six weeks.
Pleasingly, he is now on the rehab home stretch however, hoping to become available early in the back-half of the season.
“(The knee) is really good actually – I started running again last week, which was nice to get out of the brace and start moving again,” he told SEN 1116 as part of the Bulldogs’ mid-season blitz on Wednesday.
“(My return) sort of depends on the next couple of weeks and how it all tracks. Hopefully I’m back not too far after the bye.
In the meantime, the 24-year-old has stayed involved by helping his fellow forwards on and off the field.
“I can’t do too much (myself until I’m back training fully), so I guess it’s more trying to help the other guys in the forward-line as much as I can,” Naughton said.
“If I can offer them any bit of advice or if they need any help with something, I’ll watch them on the track.”
Naughton has been particularly impressed with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s development this season, while hoping Rory Lobb can regain his confidence through some continuity at AFL level.
“Everyone knows (Jamarra) is an unbelievable talent, and he’s obviously a close friend of mine, but to see his growth this year has been great,” Naughton said.
“I think he’s been more consistent this season, which was probably his goal coming into the year. He’s been impacting the scoreboard a little bit more, but also creating a really strong contest which we need up forward.
“I think (for Rory) it’s for him to get back to his contest stuff - he’s been a great player in the past and hasn’t been (at his) best recently, but we know what he’s capable of and that’s being a really solid contributor to our footy team.
“I know when he’s playing really well, he’s basically marking everything and competing really well in the air.”
There’s no better way to support your club than with a membership, as the club strives for 60K members for the first time in its history.
As part of the Bulldogs’ mid-season membership blitz, a three-game Bronze membership will be available for just $33. This limited offer will grant those general admission access to three of the Bulldogs’ remaining four home matches at Marvel Stadium. For more details, visit membership.westernbulldogs.com.au/sen.
