Bennell left in the lurch

HARLEY Bennell will have the brakes put on any earlyseason AFL comeback bid by a WAFL scheduling change, dashing his chances of playing for Fremantle in their season opener against Port Adelaide.

The Dockers have confirmed the banished star is allowed to play in pre-season matches for Peel under the terms of his eight-week ban.

But it is believed Bennell will be starved of any opportunity to play games during his exile, with the WAFL’s preseason series not expected to start until March 10 — the week his time away from Fremantle could end.

Bennell, whose past two seasons have been ruined by repeated calf injuries, was fined $15,000 by the Dockers and sent to train with host club Peel for two months after a drunken night out last Sunday when he was thrown out of a nightclub by bouncers.