After earning All Australian honours in 2006, a broken ankle cut short Bassett’s 2007 and he missed the last ten games. Bassett is optimistic about the injury and also for 2008. “I’m starting to feel more positive about it,” he said. “The bone has healed fine, there’s no issues with that. (This year) I just want to do really well to the best of my ability. That’s all I can control. Play the best I can and take it from there.” Before the round 13 injury Bassett continued his 2006 form, amassing 201 disposals and 93 marks.

Bassett started his senior career with SANFL club Norwood but was overlooked at national drafts before claimed as a rookie by Melbourne in 1997. He was elevated to the senior list during the season but a chest injury stopped him from making his AFL debut. He was traded to the Crows at the end of that year in a swap for former Victorians Matthew Collins and Brent Williams and played his first game for the Crows in 1998. While at Melbourne, Bassett was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and he has had to learn to juggle his health with the demands of elite sport. “You start out feeling you can’t be one of the guys,” he said. “You get older you learn not to worry about fitting in socially; it’s just who you are. And you realise you can still have one or two beers and survive. But certainly early on it was an issue. I was a 20-year-old bloke wanting to do all the things a 20-year-old bloke wants to do and suddenly something you had been doing for a few years gets taken away. I had to deal with it. A lot of young men aren’t the best communicators in the world, so it took me a while to talk about it. Once I did, life became easier.” Bassett, again a member of Adelaide’s leadership group in 2008, is heavily involved in the club’s Beyond the Boundary program and is also a director on the Crows Foundation Board.