The unfortunate ex-Portsmouth man flourishing again after missing Blues' entire title-winning season
A promising Pompey player cruelly condemned to a year on the sidelines is flourishing once more.
And Shaun North is adamant Josh Dockerill is showing absolutely no signs of the long injury lay-off which effectively ended his Fratton Park career.
The defender tore the ACL in his right knee during the second half of the Blues’ pre-season friendly at Gosport in July 2023.
At the time, Dockerill had recently been awarded a 12-month deal following graduation from the Academy - yet never represented Pompey again, missing the entire 2023-24 season.
Subsequently released last summer, the 19-year-old followed newly-appointed Hawks head coach North to Westleigh Park, along with fellow Academy youngsters Harvey Laidlaw and Mitch Aston.
And he has since impressed during 19 matches for the sixth-placed Southern League Premier South side.
North told The News: ‘I was asked a few months ago at a fans’ forum about why I’m just going to Pompey for players. It’s because you tend to go to people that you know a little about and trust.
‘So for me that was the likes of Josh Dockerill, Mitch Aston, Harvey Laidlaw and, to an extent, Leon Maloney. I knew what we were getting with them, their good bits and their bad bits.
‘If you’d have seen Josh play this season, you wouldn’t have known he’d been out for a year. He has played virtually every game.
‘He’s played everywhere. He started in the centre of midfield on Saturday and ended up playing right-back. He has also played centre-back for us, he’s played everywhere, because that’s what Josh can do.
‘Don’t get me wrong, Pompey didn’t make a mistake in letting him go because he probably isn’t anywhere near the Championship - but I think he’s good enough to make a living in the game.
‘I’ve known him for about 10 years and he needs a kick up the backside every now and again, but he reads the game well, is technically really comfortable and he’s brave. He’ll have a tackle when he needs to have a tackle and he’s okay in the air.
‘He can play at full-back and does a good job, he’ll play at centre-back and will do a good job, and in midfield he has been excellent for us.’
Laidlaw and Aston were viewed as players for the future when snapped up by the Hawks this summer after graduating from Pompey’s Academy.
However, both have still featured in the Hawks’ first-team this season, with Laidlaw, in particular, strongly involved with 11 starts and 15 appearances overall.
While midfielder Aston has been handed five outings, albeit starting just one of them.
North added: ‘We signed Harvey and Mitch as development players and they were dual-registered with Baffins to give them game time.
‘Our left-back got a serious knee injury, which has meant Harvey has had a run in the team and he is doing really well.
‘He’s had more game time than Mitch, but they are both doing well.’