After leading the NEAFL squad out of the player’s race at the start of the third quarter, the All-Australian centre half-back had an immediate impact on the contest, taking a strong overhead mark inside-50 which he calmly sent flying between the big sticks.
But Bock wasn’t finished there, with the defender-turned-forward adding two more majors to his goal tally to finish among Shaun Hart’s leading goal-kickers for the afternoon.
Defensively the Vice-Captain showed he hadn’t skipped a beat, with the versatile swingman fisting a number of contested footballs away towards the boundary line to enable his side to re-structure their attacking zones around goals.
Brisbane Lion’s senior-listed youngster Aaron Cornelius looked frustrated mid-way through the final quarter, with the 22-year-old unable to stop Bock's assault on the Lions goals despite throwing everything at the veteran Gold Coaster.
Post-match, NEAFL coach Shaun Hart told goldcoastfc.com.au that Bock’s immediate impact only minutes after being inserted into the contest showed how determined the SUNS star had been to taste competitive football again.
“Just his cleverness in front of goals provided a lively spark amongst the playing group,” Hart said.
“He’ll likely to play forward for the next couple of weeks then he might venture back… (but) he’s a pretty handy forward.”
While Bock appears to be in the best physical shape of his playing career, Hart conceded his newest NEAFL star would likely need some time to gain match fitness and conditioning before taking the next step in his rehabilitation – playing AFL football.
“There were a few times where the ball hit the ground, but you can tell he’ll get his mobility back bit by bit,” he said.
“He’ll likely ramp his intensity by playing three quarters next week, but hopefully by the third week he’ll be pushing for a full game by the third week.”
The chance to finally pull up the socks and run out alongside his team mates after months of rigorous hours in weights room and in isolated training circuits filled the popular club figure with relief and gratitude.
“It just feels good to finally get out there and have a kick with the boys,” Bock said.
While fans can only wonder how many goals the club stalwart might have kicked had he played a full game, Bock said he had a few teammates to thank for making his second-half performance look magical.
“Jacob Gillbee set me up a couple of nice marks, and a couple others also chipped in a few good ones to me,” he said.
“It’s just good to get back out here and hopefully I can continue to build on today’s performance in the coming weeks.”
