K Rock Football | After being sidelined for the second half of the season and missing Newtown & Chilwell’s finals campaign in 2025, co-captain Luke Maddock has returned to full fitness as the Towners commence their quest to end a 40-year premiership drought.

Maddock will run out against archrival St Joseph’s on Saturday for his first competitive match in just shy of 10 months.

He tore the medial collateral ligament in both knees in a marking contest in a win over Colac on June 21, spending nearly two months with his legs in a brace.

“The knees are all healed up, which has been great,” Maddock told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary podcast.

“I’ve actually had an injury-free pre-season, which has been nice.

“I think the MCLs were almost a blessing in disguise. (It) gave me a year to reset the body; a few other little niggling injuries that I had in the past have been shaken.”

Maddock made a surprise move forward in 2024, kicking 31 goals from 15 games, while on the day his 2025 season ultimately ended, he had three goals to his name.

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