2013 Player Profile: Brent Staker

[Scrads]

If rookie priced then yes, what a bargain... everyone will be on him for sure :) If B/F eligible then even more so.

[Adamant]

If rookie priced then yes, what a bargain... everyone will be on him for sure :) If B/F eligible then even more so.

Yeah, his DPP could be handy with Bock or even Lake...

[Bones Bombers]

Just watched some vids of their Arizona camp and he seems to be moving pretty well and in good spirits.
He seems very well liked in the club too going by their vids. Couldn't be a bad thing.

[nostradamus]

so many good F/B options ......Lake, Broughton, Hurley, Pederson, Staker, Bock, Lee  8)

all realistic options to consider and will add much needed flexibility to our teams

[Mr Micah]

Out of those optins I would go with staying with staker and lee

[Bones Bombers]

There are 2 Tom Lee's on fanplanner, the St Kilda one is forward only so who's the other one with f/b eligibility?

[Mr.Craig]

There are 2 Tom Lee's on fanplanner, the St Kilda one is forward only so who's the other one with f/b eligibility?

There's a few little glitches in Fanplanner. One is the double Tom Lee (the same person), another is Jack Martin and Jed Anderson who are both listed at $101,600 aswell as $96,200. Then there's Jake Neade who is listed as mid only AND forward only.

I'm waiting to see if m0nty sorts it all out once the draft is over, if not I'll throw a message his way. ;)

[Justin Bieber]

Ripping emoticons he has haha.

[Football Factory]

Staker's two years of torment over: Lion ready to return


AFTER a nightmare two years, Brisbane Lion Brent Staker can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

In round one, 2011, Staker ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and opted for LARS surgery.

Despite the quick recovery, the procedure bombed, and just six matches into his comeback later that year, he ruptured the LARS augmentation and was out again.

This time Staker took the more cautious approach and underwent a traditional knee reconstruction.

But it was no simple process.

He went into surgery and came out to the news his surgeon needed a bone graft to repair the knee and would require him back in the operating theatre in six months' time. There he would need a hamstring graft.

Both times it was a long rehabilitation process with no football in sight.

But last Monday, for the first time in 16 months, he trained flat out with the full Lions' squad.

"It was a surreal feeling because 12 months ago I was starting pre-season on a new bike and riding around Brisbane non-stop, so it's been terrific to be able to be part of the training sessions," Staker said.

"The shackles are off and I've been released back into the wild."

Staker attended the Lions' two-week high altitude camp with 17 teammates in Arizona in November and got through with flying colours before returning to Australia to link with the full squad.

While slowly returning to contact work â€" which will be full-on in the coming weeks â€" he has no doubts of being fully fit and available for the NAB Cup.

But it's been a slow journey, full of self doubt for the 28-year-old.

He said coming out of his first operation last September was particularly difficult.

"When I came out they said I needed to wait six months for another operation, it was a bit disheartening and a bit flattening because when you wake up from an operation you expect to be healed," he said.

"I was a bit pissed off, a bit annoyed, but had to wait my time, six months.

"Going in for another operation I thought 'really, do I have to do this again?' You know what to expect with the pain and what you're going to feel. The hamstring graft is 10 times more painful than a LARS operation so it wasn't great."

Between operations, Staker acquainted himself with a road bike and began racking up the kilometres around Brisbane to keep fit and regain the strength in his inactive leg.

It was a similar process following the hamstring graft in February once he got off the crutches.

Hours and hours on the bike have slowly been replaced by hours and hours in the gym to regain strength in the hamstring, which is still not quite at maximum power.

The former West Coast utility came to the Lions at the end of the 2009 season and was clearly the best of Michael Voss' recruits during 2010, mixing his time as a third tall forward and defender.

He said with so much time on physio tables and rehabilitating, there had been many chances to ponder the upcoming season.
"There's been an enormous amount of thoughts go through my mind," he said.

"Is it going to be better? Is it going to get back to what it should be? Am I going to be able to play footy again? Am I going to be able to kick properly because it's my kicking leg? All those things.

"I'm a realist and think things through and try to not get depressed or down on myself. Being around the boys at the club was good and watching the boys train kept me motivated."

Now entering the fourth and final year of his contract at the Lions, one of the club's most popular players said he was not looking too far ahead.

Voss has clearly indicated there is a role for the versatile big man, and Staker thinks he's now in as good a shape as ever to contribute when given his chance.

"I'm confident in my body. I'm 28 now and I think I'm in some really good condition," he said.

"At the end of the day it's about having fun. I've missed a year-and-a-half of footy so I just want to have fun and see where it goes. Because I've missed so much I don't want to set the bar too high.

"It'll be such a thrill. The first time I run out or the first game I'm involved in, the endorphins are going to be going crazy, the adrenaline, I can't wait."



http://www.afl.com.au/news/2012-12-08/stakers

[Football Factory]

Staker is 30k more than we thought ..Few people have jumped off the Pittard bandwagon because he is 30k more how about Staker ? is he still a lock for you at this early stage ?  Staker has DPP which is appealing

[Toga]

Staker is 30k more than we thought ..Few people have jumped off the Pittard bandwagon because he is 30k more how about Staker ? is he still a lock for you at this early stage ?  Staker has DPP which is appealing

Staker more of a chance than Pittard at this stage... His DPP will come in handy should I decide to go with one of Broughts or Bocky but otherwise there are probably better scoring rookies around

[Mr.Craig]

Plenty more runs on the board for Staker. I don't have a problem paying 132k.

[Football Factory]

Staker is 30k more than we thought ..Few people have jumped off the Pittard bandwagon because he is 30k more how about Staker ? is he still a lock for you at this early stage ?  Staker has DPP which is appealing

Staker more of a chance than Pittard at this stage... His DPP will come in handy should I decide to go with one of Broughts or Bocky but otherwise there are probably better scoring rookies around

Dont know about other people but im really struggling to find cheap forwards worthy of selection .. T.Lee is a lock for me at the moment

[Toga]

Plenty more runs on the board for Staker. I don't have a problem paying 132k.

thats true he's more experienced...

a question for Lions supporters: is he a definite in your best 22? ???

[Justin Bieber]

Plenty more runs on the board for Staker. I don't have a problem paying 132k.

thats true he's more experienced...

a question for Lions supporters: is he a definite in your best 22? ???

Yes he is.