Re: Round 11 Carlton v Brisbane
Reply #21 –
At the time he was coming back we lauded Hawthorn's approach with Brian Lake and co playing through the VFL.
How has that worked out for their longevity in their return?
The fact of the matter is, Chris unfortunately hurt himself when he returned.
Brian Lake has since gone down and only lasted a couple of weeks too. Either they came back too soon from their previous injuries and then suffered compensation injuries or they were ready to return and injured something else in the process.
Either way, I think we can all agree, that most injuries are down to bad luck as much as anything else. That same incident could have occurred at the start of a VFL game for all we know, and then he would have been back too soon, or he might have played without incident. Either way, only Judd knows how he felt going in, and he looked absolutely chomping at the bit to get into the game. Likewise Giansiracusa puts to rest the theories about age and being the substitute being a factor.
In any case, we await the great one's return. There is a positive in all of this missed footy for Judd. He wont want to go out like this, so odds are he will play another year, and its a year "out of the fray" which might actually help him tack on an extra year or two to his longevity if he decides to go on playing.