Naitanui good as new, says US expert
THE US expert who put Nic Naitanui through an intensive training camp says the West Coast ruckman retained his extraordinary leap following knee surgery and backed him to make a successful return.
Sports conditioning specialist Bill Knowles, who has worked with Naitanui for the past fortnight at his Philadelphia base, said the 27-year-old was well placed to recapture his dominant best.
“It was 10 days of training, two sessions a day, very intense and he did fantastic,” Knowles told the Sunday Territorian yesterday.
“Everything leans towards a successful comeback, because there’s nothing leaning towards an unsuccessful comeback. He can leap, he can jump and he’s been there before.
“When you’re one of the top ruckmen in the league and you can come back to the same place, which I believe he can, then he’s in a great place because he’s already so talented.”
Knowles said the size of the 201cm ruckman, who has a listed playing weight of 110kg, would not complicate his recovery from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament.
The comeback process was easier at Naitanui’s age.
“Nic is conditioned to doing what he does. Nic’s a big guy, but in America there’s a lot of Nics,” Knowles said.
“We’ve seen so many guys his size, and they come back from this stuff. Especially because he’s so athletic and his timing is so good.
“It’s not like he had this injury at 18. It’s the guys that get hurt at young ages that are really dodging a lot of bullets. In Nic’s case, his body has been very athletic and able to tolerate the demands of what he does and I truly believe he’s in a great place.
“The athlete within will take over again. He’s in a great place. And because Nic is extremely experienced and talented at what he does...I think it increases his potential to return to the same level.”
Knowles said the camp had achieved its aims but he would not predict whether Naitanui, who is due to return to Perth tomorrow, could make it back for this year’s finals series.