Rejuvenated Fevola has a spring in his step again, on and off the field
The Age
Thursday August 20, 2009
JUST like a dieting devotee, Brendan Fevola proudly broadcast the extent of his recent weight loss to a formal gathering of influential Carlton supporters last week.Six kilograms in five weeks is roughly what the Blues' spearhead has shed. Not from giving up any ingestible vices, but through the employment of another classic technique €” running, which is something Fevola has scarcely done aside from on match day this year.As Carlton, winner in six of its past seven outings, has charged towards its first finals campaign in eight years, things have apparently come together for the club's roguish forward. And not only on the field.Blues insiders have marked Fevola's season turning point at round 15, when the team beat Richmond for the second time and the big No. 25 booted nine goals.Fevola's statistics in the weeks thereafter show that this was the beginning of an impressive run that sees his averages up on every indicator, compared with his output between rounds one and 14.It was also around round 15 that, for the first time this season, Fevola began playing without impediment €” the heel injury he sustained in pre-season had troubled him until then. Having recuperated from the ailment, Fevola could begin training like he hadn't for months.The kilos dropped off him and he is now said to be rather chuffed with his frame, which tips the scales at around 96 kilograms and allows him to move around the field with notably increased agility.One effort that has stayed in the minds of the Blues' match committee and fans alike is the desperate lunge he made on Geelong's Andrew Mackie when Carlton managed to topple the Cats on a Friday night a fortnight ago.He launched his chase from 60 metres away. It took a particular mindset, but also required a certain fitness level."He couldn't have done that at the start of the season because of his heel," Carlton football manager Steven Icke said yesterday. "He's able to work harder."Carlton was criticised for persisting with playing Fevola, who was clearly labouring at the beginning of the season. Even Fevola began hinting that his early wayward kicking for goal was due, in part, to his medical condition €” presumably the anaesthetic he was having jabbed into his heel before taking the field each week."Matthew Lloyd's got the same injury that Brendan had pre-season and Matthew Lloyd hasn't played for three weeks," Icke noted."The problem with playing is that the heel wasn't getting any better because every time he played he had to play with some assistance, which meant that he didn't train."The combination of not being able to train and not getting any fitness work into him meant that his fitness dropped away."Fevola, the 2006 Coleman medallist, has had to work his own way through the trouble, not missing a match even after a mid-season finger operation, and is now winning praise for tackling and lunging at opponents just as a desperate defender would.It is surely no coincidence that on the personal front all is well in Fevola's world, too. After spending a period this year bunked up at the home of teammate Jordan Bannister, Fevola has reunited with his wife, Alex, who is due to deliver their second child on Christmas Day."There's harmony in every aspect of his life. Harmony both on the field and off the field," Icke said.Those at Carlton who have observed Fevola long enough only hope this state of balance continues. Not only into September but beyond.
© 2009 The Age
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