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Harley Bennell hospitalised hours after announcing retirement

Demons player Harley Bennell (pictured middle) walking off the field looking dejected.
Harley Bennell (pictured middle) has reportedly been hospitalised hours after his AFL retirement. (Getty Images)

Recently retired AFL star Harley Bennell has reportedly been hospitalised only a day after calling time on his once-promising AFL career.

The former No.2 draft pick called time on a rollercoaster 88-game career on Monday, which began in 2011 at Gold Coast.

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But The Courier Mail has reported the former Melbourne Demons player was taken to hospital after he was found intoxicated at a Broadbeach apartment only hours after the announcement.

Bennell's mother Kayleen later said she was worried for her son.

"Very disappointing, knowing my son is stuck in Queensland with no family support," she posted on a Melbourne supporters website.

"I'm his mother and I'm very concerned for his well being and mental state."

It comes after Bennell was this month banned for four matches and Melbourne fined $50,000 after he breached the AFL's coronavirus protocols.

The 27-year-old left the Demons' hub on the Sunshine Coast to "visit an unauthorised residence without approval to do so".

Bennell appeared set to earn a new contract with the club before the indiscretion after playing five games in his first season at Melbourne.

Harley Bennell’s AFL career

Injuries kept him to just two games in a four-year stint at Fremantle and he departed the Dockers in July 2019.

Melbourne acknowledged Bennell's retirement, posting on social media: "Wishing you all the best for the future, Harley".

Bennell played his best football at the Suns, enjoying a breakout season in 2012 when he finished second in the club's best-and-fairest behind Gary Ablett Jnr.

Bennell, who had earlier been stood down by the Suns for breaking team drinking rules, apologised for "poor choices in my life".

Gold Coast also sanctioned Bennell in 2011 for failing to return to the Gold Coast after a Perth trip.

He was also arrested on News Year's Eve in 2012 after being involved in a fight at a nightclub in Mandurah on the southwest coast of Western Australia.

with AAP

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