By: BRETT STUBBS
A REMORSEFUL Nathan Grima will return to the Devils team tomorrow seeking redemption -- and a duel with his younger brother, Todd.
The 20-year-old key defender was suspended for four weeks after breaking the jaw of Sandringham's Andrew Biddlecombe with a raised elbow.
``It was just one of those things. It was a spur-of-the-moment, stupid thing to do and didn't have any impact on the game,'' Grima said yesterday.
``It didn't affect the outcome at all.
``There wasn't meant to be malice in it. As soon as I got back from the tribunal, I wiped it from my mind and moved on.''
To make matters worse, Grima had been in excellent form, probably the pick of the Devils' key defenders.
His suspension was the start of a run of bad luck for the Devils which has seen teammates missing games through injury or undisciplined acts.
``That is probably the most disappointing thing, the fact I was having the best start to a year and had a pretty good four or five weeks and to get rubbed out like that, I let the team down a little bit,'' the Blundstone's customer service employee said.
``We've had a lot of injuries in the past five weeks and the team's form has dropped off considerably.''
The 193cm, 92kg player's return could not come quickly enough for the Devils, who face a Geelong team at Skilled Stadium boasting a forward line containing Matt McCarthy (198cm), Henry Playfair (198cm), Charlie Gardiner (190cm), Tom Lonergan (197cm) and Kent Kingsley (193cm).
But his 19-year-old brother Todd, a Geelong AFL rookie-listed player, has been named at fullback.
``The first time we played Geelong this year, Todd missed it with a fractured eye socket so I am definitely looking forward to coming up against him this week,'' Grima said.
``But I think he is at the other end of the ground now so I don't know if we will get that match-up we have been having a joke about.
``But I have been talking to him today and stirring him up a bit.''
After winning three of their first four games, the Devils have lost their past five to be in 10th spot, while Geelong is in sixth place with five wins from nine games.
Last Modified on 17/06/2006 13:20