IT IS highly unlikely an AFL footballer will make it through his whole career without spending some time on the sidelines through injury.
To those who say our game isn't tough any more, you're way off!
Fremantle's Michael Barlow running back with the flight of the ball, that's tough.
Breaking his leg and then trying to stand up on it only to collapse when the leg gave way, very tough.
My teammate Jack Ziebell cracked his tibia in the first quarter of our game against Geelong last Sunday. Jack was in severe pain.
He wasn't aware his leg was broken. He was strapped up ready to test the leg to see if he could return to play. Jack stood up, and heard a crack, that's when he and our doctor knew it was broken. I'm sure you'll agree this is yet another act of toughness.
I spoke to Jack on Thursday night and he expects to spend most of the next two weeks on the couch at home before returning to begin his rehab. He also mentioned there is a possibility of him running after six weeks.
If we are a finals contender, there is a possibility that Jack could still have his first AFL finals experience this year. This may sound premature to some, but it is amazing what our body can overcome and recover from with the medical expertise and facilities we have at our disposal.
Both Barlow and Ziebell are players who will be able to handle the physical pain a broken leg inflicts. The mental pain of knowing they may not return to football this season is the real battle.
Having spent 13 out of 15 weeks in the injured group myself this season, it's the isolation from the main group of players that hurts the most. Sure, breaking a bone hurts. But when you're in the gym, alone, doing weights and everyone else is running around on the track outside, that's
when the mental pain kicks in.
We play a team sport and we live for the adrenaline and excitement that playing on the AFL arena brings. This is the reward for all the hard work we put in on the track during preseason and leading up to a game. When this is taken away from you, it becomes easy to feel isolated.
This year is my 10th year in the league and it has been the first year in my career that I have experienced the challenges of dealing with a long-term injury. In the week leading into round one of the season I broke my left foot.
It wasn't a particularly painful injury in the grand scheme of injury severity, but I was to experience the mental pain when I attended the boys' final training session before heading off to Adelaide for their clash against Port.
I wanted to get around the boys and let them know that they had my support for their first game. I rocked up to Arden Street and the boys were already out on the track. I headed out onto the ground and spoke to a couple of the coaches and the boys as they were put through their
paces.
They were very focused on their preparation and I didn't really get to chat to any of them for too long. It was a brief session and before too long they were back in the rooms to get changed and head to the airport.
I couldn't help but feel I wasn't part of the group any more. I now had a first-hand experience of the pain that the boys in rehab go through. I had always been on the track saying "thanks for your support boys", not on the sideline before. Reality had set in and it didn't feel good.
Liam Anthony is yet another player who knows too well what it's like to be sidelined through injury. After missing 10 weeks in his first season with a stress fracture in his foot last year, he now faces another stint back in rehab after dislocating his shoulder in round seven. He's not
expected to return this year.
I guess I am lucky in some respects to have experienced two injuries this year that still enabled me to return to play before the end of the season. It is only really this goal that keeps you motivated and gets you through some tough training sessions on the road to recovery.
In some aspects, I think the physical training demands are greater for a player in rehab than they are for a player that is preparing to play a game. In rehab you begin your training before the main group arrives, and you are still getting through your program after they have left
for the day. You don't have to manage your training workload as there is no need to leave plenty of energy in the tank for a game on the weekend. Although you are still managing your injury so as it is not overloaded, it's flat out training all week, every session, no energy spared in rehab.
This week I returned to the main group and was no longer grinding through rehab sessions. It seems much different to my first return in round 10. My foot felt stiff and I wasn't really confident moving around the ground back then. I'm not sure I was mentally ready to play either.
It was my first time returning after an injury and I wasn't sure how far I could push my body.
This time around, I feel fresh and ready to go. I'm not sure whether it's because this injury was less severe, or if I've become mentally tough. I now have knowledge of what it takes to return to the game and I definitely feel confident in my body's ability to return without any hesitation this time.
Bring on the Swans and our most important game of this season to date.
* Drew Petrie played his junior football with Ballarat Swans in the Ballarat Football League.
North Melbourne selected him from North Ballarat Rebels as a second round choice (number 23) in the 2000 AFL national draft.
He made his AFL debut in 2001 and is Kangaroos vice-captain Petrie's column is published exclusively in The Courier every second Saturday.
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