BRISBANE Lions coach Michael Voss says the determined attitude of Albert Proud this pre-season influenced the young midfielder's recall to the senior side after a two-week in-house suspension.
The 20-year-old was banned from playing in both the Qantas Indigenous All Stars v Adelaide match and the first round of the NAB Cup after being charged with assault after an incident in a Gold Coast bar in January.
But the third-year Lion will now face Essendon this Friday night at Telstra Dome in the quarter-final clash after the club decided he was ready to return.
"We've completed what we needed to do and he's been training with us for a little bit now," Voss said in Melbourne on Thursday night.
"We deemed that we'd gone as far as we needed to go and that's where we've come to."
Voss said the left-footed Queenslander was remorseful for his actions that are yet to be dealt with in a criminal court.
"I don't think he's been on top of the world, to put it that way, but he's obviously aware of what's happened," he said.
"What we're very impressed with is the way the way he's gone about his business. He's really stepped up over the pre-season and at some point there was going to be a point where we needed to get him going again and we thought this was the appropriate time."
The Lions made the trip to Melbourne without some of their brightest stars, with captain Jonathan Brown, Jamie Charman, Simon Black, Jared Brennan, Travis Johnstone and Michael Rischitelli to miss the match.
Voss said the skipper "might" have his first competitive run for the year next weekend.
"I spoke to [Brown] yesterday about what his progression now is and we'll try and get a game into him next week, depending on how his week progresses," he said.
"He's still building up into his workload but if we can get a game into him next week, that would be an ideal thing for round one."
Voss also said he spoke to unlucky youngster Pat Garner this week after the 21-year-old learned he would undergo a third knee reconstruction.
He said he instructed the rookie-listed player to focus on the bigger picture as he encounters yet another hurdle in his short career.
"I don't think you can ever give great advice but the advice I've given him is that life is a little bit more important than kicking pig skin around, but sometimes we don't think that is the case because it's a passion and what we love," he said.
"That's something for him to consider now. His health is much more important than kicking a footy around, even though it's a passion for him.
"We'll continue to work with Patty and keep him busy during the year."
