GOLD Coast recruit Josh Corbett was blinded in one eye for three weeks after a nasty football injury.
Corbett was recruited under the AFL Commission's assistance package which allowed the Suns to pre-list three players who had previously nominated for the NAB AFL Draft or had been at an AFL club.
The 22-year-old is a great mark and starred in the VFL for Werribee this year.
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That is, until June, when his season was ended.
"(It was) just a freak incident in a marking contest," Corbett said.
"I went up and a straight finger poked me in the eye. There was a little bit of a blood clot in the front of the eye and I missed the rest of the year.
"It pretty much blinded my eye for about three weeks and I was just bed-ridden for a while.
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"It was a pretty long and slow process, and a pretty random injury. I'm pretty lucky to have vision in both my eyes though, so I count myself pretty lucky."
Corbett expects to make the move up to Queensland in November after first touring the Suns' facility about a couple of months ago.
"Everyone around the club was just so warm and welcoming. It was such a community environment. When the opportunity arose for me to be able to use this special selection for mature-age picks, I grabbed it with both hands. I'm stoked with it all," Corbett said.
Two bouts of glandular fever in his earlier years and other injuries have held Corbett back in the past but he was able to showcase his talent in 2018.
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"I was lucky enough to put a full pre-season in and felt fit and healthy going into the year," Corbett said.
"Unfortunately, a little eye injury put me down and I couldn't play the last half of the year, but I was relatively pleased with my form up until that point."
