They say the harder you work the luckier you get.
In most circumstances that is probably true, but a few players at the West Coast Eagles would be wondering why the fickle finger of fate intervened last weekend.
During the pre-season Jamie Cripps was outstanding, breaking the 2km time trial record. Jeremy McGovern has never been in better shape and Liam Ryan was back to his all-Australian best.
In the space of about 30 minutes last Sunday five months of gut-breaking effort went down the gurgler. Some reward. Busted ankle for Cripps, wrecked hamstrings for McGovern and Ryan.
As footy clubs do, everyone moves on. The club itself has to focus on the players who have the opportunity to get the job done; those who will replace the six or seven teammates who fell victim to this brutal game in the carnage against Fremantle.
One soldier down, another steps up.
But having seen the work the like of Cripps, McGovern and Ryan put in over the summer your heart aches for them. As part of the inner sanctum here, you see them punch through the summer grind in scorching heat.
They push pain barrier almost daily as they prepare for combat in the AFL, arguably the sternest physical test of any sport in the world. Clearly playing football has its risks, but a solid physical preparation is designed to mitigate against injury.
For their next couple of months these three Eagles stars will likely see any reference of their place on the senior list when an injury list is published.
Guys who have been standard bearers during the preparation leading into this season are now spectators.
McGovern was the first of this trio to fall, gripping at a hamstring after pulling up short as he made his way to a marking contest against Fremantle. It didn’t look good, the medical report confirmed it.
The four-time all-Australian simply can’t catch a break. He was in great shape last year, too, until an errant hip to the ribs from Geelong star Jeremy Cameron shattered his rib cage and ended his season in round 14.
Vice-captain to Luke Shuey, who had minutes earlier been subbed out with a hamstring strain, McGovern has emerged as a strong leader within the group.
We know he’s tough. Not only playing in the 2018 Grand Final but playing a significant role despite carrying a rib injury into the match. And he was the man who initiated the passage that is now folklore – you know the one, it ended with Dom Sheed slotting the match-winner.
Ryan was also involved in that famous 2018 chain, marking on the wing and then kicking the ball to Sheed at half-forward. If you didn’t think he was tough, consider the fact that he went back into Sunday’s battle carrying a hamstring that requires surgery.
Flying for a trademark grab late in the third term he lost control of his body in the air and tumbled heavily. The way he landed he was lucky he didn’t face an even more dire consequence, but his leg was flung sideways and ruptured a hamstring tendon.
With a long casualty list of teammates already out of the game he bravely returned, giving the Eagles a 19th man, albeit severely incapacitated. His selfless act meant others could get a rest. Only when the game had slipped beyond reach did he slip his boots off for the day.
Cripps, one of the unheralded Eagles so important to the team structure because of the role he plays, unfortunately had an ankle trapped awkwardly under the body of Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce.
As he struggled from the ground assisted by two trainers there was a sense it would be long term. He tried to convince his mind that it wasn’t too bad, but mind over matter can take you only so far,
X-rays subsequently revealed a bad break.
While it will be very much a case of out of sight out of mind, these three warriors will tick little but significant milestones along their varied rehabilitation journeys.
They will lean on their loved ones to assist them as they hobble around the house; tend them while they lay on the couch; explain to their kids that ‘daddy won’t be able to play with them in the backyard.’
Of course, they have been there before. Life as a professional athlete always throws up a few obstacles. Just as they have done in the past, they will clear the latest hurdles and will lock body and mind into getting back as soon as they can.
