Bews betters Betts in sparkling return

THE picture said it all.

In defensive coach Matthew Scarlett’s hand was a photo of Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts.

He showed it to Jed Bews and the 25-year-old knew exactly what was happening.

After a wretched start to the season with a groin injury, the Cats defender was set to play his first AFL game of 2019.

And he handled his return with aplomb, keeping Betts to just nine touches and one behind, while kicking a goal and finishing with 18 touches himself.

“I found out early in the week and Scarlo just said: ‘I’ve got a photo to show you’ and chucked up Eddie Betts and said ‘you’re playing this week’,” Bews said.

“I thought I was all right tonight, I managed to keep Eddie to one point and kicked a goal myself. I don’t kick too many so I tried to make the most of that, so I was happy.

“It’s good being back with the boys. I loved it, loved every minute of it. Friday night, the win, it was a great night.”

Bews made his VFL return against North Melbourne on May 12 and had to bide his time as the Cats kept racking up wins in the AFL.

“The form of the boys has been really good and I felt like it was hard to drop anyone,” Bews said “But as soon as I heard the news (that I was back), I was rapt.

“There wasn’t too much talk of what I needed to improve on, it was just to wait (for an opportunity).”

Bews, who had injections in his groin to fast track his recovery, said the first month at VFL level was crucial to get confidence back in his body.

“I was a bit nervous and wasn’t sure how it was going to go. But I got through and I was able to run out games which was really good,” he said.

Bews said his performance in the 27-point win over the Crows would give him a good launching pad into the second half of the season.

“Hopefully I can just keep building as the year goes on,” he said. “It’s been a pretty ordinary start with the injury so I am just enjoying playing footy (again), and hopefully I can play some good footy.”

He added the challenge for him now was to take his solid return into Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.

“They’ve got a good, small attacking forward line. Their whole team is probably attacking,” he said. “Marvel (Stadium) will mean it’s a quick game, so we will recover, do our work on them and go again.”