Growing Strains Of Groin Pains
The Age
Friday June 29, 2007
IT WASN'T as though I was oblivious to it or that I was trying to fool anyone. It wasn't until I was in the office this week with Roosy and Johnny Blakey that it really hit me. We went through a few things and there was vision of me and my speed off the mark, and it showed I was a bit slower than usual.
They said, "Look, it's right here in front of our eyes. You've got to be honest with us." And I was. I saw there were suggestions that my season could be over, but I'm certainly not thinking that way and the medical staff have said that the week off will definitely help. I'm hoping to be right for the game against Fremantle next week. If I have to miss one more, I will, but I'm not even considering this being the end of my season. I, and we as a team, still have so much more to do in 2007. I've had the problem for a few weeks now, and the reason I haven't put my hand up earlier is because I still believed I could contribute, in taking the best defender and helping other guys in our forward line. But I suppose I was kidding myself a bit. When it's going to affect the team and my performance, it's probably not fair on a lot of people, and when the team's not going so well and you're not playing well yourself, it's tough. But I have busted my gut, I've been working pretty hard, but there's just things - some of my main attributes - that I can't do. That explosive running - I'm struggling to do it. I'm not getting to contests as quickly as I usually do.It was funny this week - I was hearing all this talk about my "mystery injury", and was it my hands, or my eyes? It's not top secret; I just didn't see why anyone needed to know. I've got a groin issue, and that's the specific injury, but on top of that there are little niggles as well, and without making excuses, it's been frustrating. We've decided it's best for me to have the week off and I'll go down to Geelong and sit in the coach's box and see how good Roosy is. We know I'm not going to be 100 per cent for the rest of the year, no matter what we do. It's a matter of squeezing another five or 10 per cent out, to try to better my output. The bottom line is, I suppose, I won't train much with the group at all. It's all about what I need to get out of training and get out of myself. This has been a very frustrating time for me and I'm never going to make any excuses, but it's not just the injuries. When I do get a chance to get to the footy, I stuff it up. And that doesn't help the confidence. Then there's also the way we're going as a team. Dropping some of those marks like I have been - that's not the groin. I suppose if you're not getting the footy as much as you should be, eventually your confidence is going to drop. I thought I was in fairly good form in the first part of the season, even with teams dropping numbers back. When I did get my chance I was taking marks and stuff like that, but the opportunities were limited. Now, without getting much of the footy, eventually that confidence is going to drop away. But first we have to perform this weekend. There's no hiding the fact that it's a massive challenge for us in Geelong. It's the toughest road trip in footy this year, but I think a backs-to-the-wall type of game might be exactly what we need.
© 2007 The Age