My article was going to be an attempt to get Damien ‘Cankles’ Hardwick back for the slaying I copped in his website articles last year.
It was also going to include a recent occurrence involving a teammate. After some detective work I've found out that Toby ‘Tony’ Thurstans has shaved his armpits, Tony's explanation for this is that it cuts out his werewolf type sweating that occurs from time to time.
But we’ll leave the dirt slinging for this week and move to a more serious note.
Matthew Primus - how football changes. Easter Sunday, the day our inspirational skipper returned to our side for his first official match of the 2004 premiership season. He trained the house down and was primed for a big return. The big return was exactly what we got, 12 possessions five tackles and four goals in one of the best individual halves of football I have been able to witness in my 133 games as a Port Adelaide player.
If leading from the front is a measure of leadership, our skipper certainly showed on Easter Sunday how he does it his way.
Such is football, that as players we never know when injuries are going to strike and some more so than others. After an injury interrupted 2003 ‘Skipper’, as we call him, had just recovered from a side strain and was in the best shape of his career.
When team mates heard the final outcome of our captain’s knee scans on Monday afternoon, an eerie silence fell over the group. That's what the dreaded word ‘ACL’ means to a sportsperson, especially our captain.
It's fair to say the football god's haven't always smiled on the team based at Alberton over the past five or so years. Players like Lade, Wilson, Francou, Paxman and of course Primus all immediately come to mind with a handful of others missing significant weeks on the sidelines due to injuries like osteitis pubis.
By no means am I qualified to talk about the recovery from a knee reconstruction because I haven't been through it and hopefully won't have to, touch wood! But I'd imagine like other injuries it plays with all your human emotions through a 12 month period.
If guts and determination are a measure of a footballer’s character, Matthew Primus oozes it and that's why, after a year on the sidelines riding every bump, he'll be back bigger and better in 2005!
I'll send 15 clubs a warning now… watch out for the big number 1 from the Power. He's already planning his return – that white light at the end of the tunnel is already getting bigger.
Good luck big fella, wishing you a speedy and successful recovery and remember, "ABSENCE MAKES EVEN THE BIGGEST HEARTS STRONGER."
Tredders
