Misfortune Favours The Brave
Newcastle Herald
Thursday August 7, 2008
WHILE wedging in a snifter of brandy, sly perv on the line-dancers and doomed punt on the Richmond dishlickers at the local bowlo on Monday night, I overheard a conversation between two armchair legends watching the Knights give it to Parramatta on the big screen.
I was there long enough to savour Steve Simpson steamrolling Fuifui Moimoi and sympathise with Luke Burt as he trudged off with busted ribs."Get up ya big cat," one of the armchair legends bellowed at Moimoi while he lay on the deck impersonating a police homicide outline."Soft," they both adjudged as Burt disappeared up the tunnel.Ridiculously tough school.The average fan does not appreciate the pain and suffering just about every footballer will go through to stay on the paddock.Anything less than lunacy like Johnny Sattler playing 75 minutes of the 1970 grand final with a broken jaw is treated with scorn.My middle brother, Dan, is a valid case study when pondering what drives footballers to continually put themselves through the wringer.He has played every season since he was five.His time in the big show took in stints with Newcastle, Manly and the Northern Eagles.A crossroads took him to France for two seasons with the Carcassonne Canaries, where the natives don't mind the odd karate kick, eye gouge and squirrel grip.Since returning to the Newcastle competition he has captained Maitland, captained and coached Macquarie, and is now captain of Western Suburbs.Representative commitments for Newcastle and NSW Country in past seasons, combined with full-time shiftwork, the myriad duties of fatherhood and a raging snowdropping habit, have tested his physical and mental stamina.At his 30th birthday party last weekend I noticed our family's favourite front-rower was a trifle ginger.It was the day after the Rosellas beat Raymond Terrace 56-10 to secure the minor premiership on differential over Cessnock.Even the cruisiest wins can be torture on bodies, particularly ancient ones."Aches and pains," Dan replied when I asked why he was getting around like a hunchback with piles."Arthritis in the knee has been giving me grief all season. My hamstring twinged a bit yesterday. Copped another one on the nose. Glad we've got the week off, to be honest.""Got me buggered why you keep punishing yourself," I soothed."Injuries are part of the game," he noted."If you want to play for any length of time, you have to cop them with a grain of salt."In that moment, while digging my brother's mangled nose and assorted masses of scar tissue that could easily make him the love child of Hannibal Lecter and Gavin Miller, it occurred to me how blase I have become about his general state of disrepair over the years.At my urging he recounted his major injuries from a quarter of a century in battle:? Broke hand in seven places playing for NSW Combined High Schools under 15s.? Dislocated elbow playing for City under 17s. "Knights juniors got picked for City," he explained when I asked why the hell he wasn't playing for Country, the filthy turncoat.? Tore one side of groin on Australian Schoolboys tour of England and France in 1995. Upon returning to Australia tore the other side playing for Newcastle Knights under 21s. Missed six weeks after operation to reattach. Sustained same injury again in first game back and missed 10 weeks.? Snapped cruciate ligament playing for Manly in first trial against North Sydney in 1999. "Got smashed by Adam Muir and Josh Stuart off the kick-off," he recalled. "Merv Cross did the reconstruction. I was off my feet for three weeks and couldn't run for eight months."? Complications from arthroscope to clean up loose bone around AC-joint while playing for the Knights in 2001 resulted in a bad infection and three shoulder operations over the next two years.? Broke leg against Canberra in 2002, a fortnight after making first-grade debut for Knights against Wests Tigers.? Dislocated elbow playing for Macquarie Scorpions under Steve Burraston in 2004.That's an unhealthy list without mentioning the countless broken noses, black eyes, corks, atomic grassburns, bumps and bruises that have given Dan that lived-in Lester Ellis look.His missus wants him to have a nose job when he finishes playing. Let me tell you, she's well within her rights.Footy's always provided good pocket money for Dan, but he's never been able to live off it. Is all the hurt worth it?"I don't know what I'll do when I retire," he said, suddenly emotional."You're a long time finished."Might take up bowls, like Uncle Tim."What of the armchair legends with ingrown toenails who think injuries are for wimps?"That's footy," Dan declared whimsically.Nice attitude, Plato.The average fan does not appreciate the pain and suffering just about every footballer will go through to stay on the paddock.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald