Demons put Bennell through tests with view to signing for 2020

MELBOURNE has joined the race for Harley Bennell.

The Demons last night put Bennell through a medical test as the latest club to consider resurrecting the career of the injury-stricken midfielder.

He has flown to Melbourne this week for more talks on his future as he explores the potential for an AFL lifeline.

The Demons are among as many as six clubs understood to be interested in recruiting the 27-year-old.

“As a club, we have to look at every opportunity to make our list better, and Harley Bennell’s obviously a very talented player,” Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney told the club website.

“There are a lot of things we have to discuss, and those conversations involve our coaches, our performance staff, our doctors — it is a club decision.

“We’re trying to get as much information as we can from Harley — where his injury is at currently, what the plan looks like for him moving forward and what the opportunities are for him to get back to playing AFL football.”

Sydney touched base months ago, calling some of Bennell’s former teammates at Gold Coast and Fremantle for character references.

Swans co-captain Josh Kennedy also met him to gauge his motivation for a return.

Geelong has also confirmed it held talks with Bennell.

Richmond’s extraordinary return on Sydney Stack and Marlion Pickett, combined with the pre-season supplemental selection period and mid-season draft the Tiger pair were taken in, mean there has never been a better time for a player such as Bennell to receive another chance.

He has played two games in the past four years due to a never-ending run of calf problems, but he has refused to surrender his football career.

A meeting with Geelongbased “calf guru” Peter Stanton after being delisted by Fremantle led to Bennell having two rounds of surgery in the belief a muscle had been pressing on a nerve.

He had an operation on his right calf in Brisbane in July and returned to have a similar operation on his left calf in September.

It appears a formality that Bennell will at least get the chance to add to his 83-game career at a third AFL club.

Clubs could add Bennell via the rookie draft or the preseason supplementary list if he could prove himself during pre-season training.

Bennell is expected to resume running soon.