Fresh start for Medhurst
January 31st 2007 20:58
Fresh start for Medhurst
3:14:39 PM Wed 31 January, 2007
Nick Hulett
collingwoodfc.com.au
CTV caught up with one of Collingwood’s new recruits, Paul Medhurst, at the Lexus Centre on Wednesday to discuss his new football home, his future in the black and white stripes, and recovering from some recent unusual pre-season surgery.
Normally off-season surgery in football involves cleaning up a knee, ankle or shoulder.
But after enduring “five or six bouts” of tonsillitis annually for most of his five-season, 99-game career at Fremantle, Medhurst decided recently he would endure the pain of a tonsillectomy in order to fully overcome the ailment, and ensure he’s ready to tackle season 2007 at his new club in good health.
This explains why the 25-year-old, who will wear guernsey no.7 for the Magpies, has been missing from many of the club’s outdoor pre-season sessions on Gosch’s Paddock in the new year.
“Basically I had a tonsillectomy which is where you get your tonsils removed,” Medhurst told CTV.
“I’ve been a bit of a chronic tonsillitis sufferer over the last four or five years, and I seem to get maybe five or six bouts a year and that sort of drags me down, affects my fitness, and doesn’t allow me to play footy with as much energy as I should. So hopefully having this done will give me a bit of an extra boost.
“I think it’s basically the older you are, the harder it is on your body. It was a painful experience for about three weeks there, some serious pain."
Medhurst, who will now return to full training in an attempt to earn senior selection in 2007, also talked about making the move from Perth to Melbourne, after being traded to Collingwood along with selection number 8 (Ben Reid) in the 2006 draft, in exchange for Chris Tarrant.
“It’s been tough, it’s been a hard thing to do to move away from family and friends. Obviously I’m a Perth boy and have spent all my time there, and Fremantle I got drafted too, so there are some ties there as well, but it’s been exciting as well.”
“The club’s been really welcoming, the players have been fantastic, and the coaching staff have really given me every opportunity and filled me with a lot of confidence, so basically in the short term looking to pay that back by getting a game and then hopefully making a name for myself as a Collingwood footballer.”
Despite the challenges that go hand in hand with moving to the other side of the country to continue your football career, something that made the transition easier for Medhurst was immediately heading off to Arizona in November for the high-altitude training camp.
“It was fantastic, obviously getting a chance to see a place that I’d never been to before, but in the same breath a bit nerve-racking with basically 40 strangers.
“So I think it was a great opportunity to get to know the players and the coaches as well because you’re sort of forced to interact and it fast-tracked that type of thing, and also gave me a good fitness base.”
Medhurst kicked 166 goals in his 99 games for the Dockers and is looking to contribute as a forward for Collingwood, but also push up the ground and assist the midfielders.
3:14:39 PM Wed 31 January, 2007
Nick Hulett
collingwoodfc.com.au
CTV caught up with one of Collingwood’s new recruits, Paul Medhurst, at the Lexus Centre on Wednesday to discuss his new football home, his future in the black and white stripes, and recovering from some recent unusual pre-season surgery.
Normally off-season surgery in football involves cleaning up a knee, ankle or shoulder.
But after enduring “five or six bouts” of tonsillitis annually for most of his five-season, 99-game career at Fremantle, Medhurst decided recently he would endure the pain of a tonsillectomy in order to fully overcome the ailment, and ensure he’s ready to tackle season 2007 at his new club in good health.
This explains why the 25-year-old, who will wear guernsey no.7 for the Magpies, has been missing from many of the club’s outdoor pre-season sessions on Gosch’s Paddock in the new year.
“Basically I had a tonsillectomy which is where you get your tonsils removed,” Medhurst told CTV.
“I’ve been a bit of a chronic tonsillitis sufferer over the last four or five years, and I seem to get maybe five or six bouts a year and that sort of drags me down, affects my fitness, and doesn’t allow me to play footy with as much energy as I should. So hopefully having this done will give me a bit of an extra boost.
“I think it’s basically the older you are, the harder it is on your body. It was a painful experience for about three weeks there, some serious pain."
Medhurst, who will now return to full training in an attempt to earn senior selection in 2007, also talked about making the move from Perth to Melbourne, after being traded to Collingwood along with selection number 8 (Ben Reid) in the 2006 draft, in exchange for Chris Tarrant.
“It’s been tough, it’s been a hard thing to do to move away from family and friends. Obviously I’m a Perth boy and have spent all my time there, and Fremantle I got drafted too, so there are some ties there as well, but it’s been exciting as well.”
“The club’s been really welcoming, the players have been fantastic, and the coaching staff have really given me every opportunity and filled me with a lot of confidence, so basically in the short term looking to pay that back by getting a game and then hopefully making a name for myself as a Collingwood footballer.”
Despite the challenges that go hand in hand with moving to the other side of the country to continue your football career, something that made the transition easier for Medhurst was immediately heading off to Arizona in November for the high-altitude training camp.
“It was fantastic, obviously getting a chance to see a place that I’d never been to before, but in the same breath a bit nerve-racking with basically 40 strangers.
“So I think it was a great opportunity to get to know the players and the coaches as well because you’re sort of forced to interact and it fast-tracked that type of thing, and also gave me a good fitness base.”
Medhurst kicked 166 goals in his 99 games for the Dockers and is looking to contribute as a forward for Collingwood, but also push up the ground and assist the midfielders.
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