STEVEN Salopek has learnt not to sweat the little things in life. Like injury, for example.
Dislocated shoulders, a bruised tibia, achilles tendonitis, osteitis pubis, ankle and knee problems, and one minor hamstring strain, along with a bout of glandular fever in 2004, have kept him from playing more than 16 games in all bar one of his seven completed AFL seasons.
When trying to establish himself at Port Adelaide after his selection at No. 6 in the 2002 National AFL Draft, the injury setbacks made it hard to build momentum in his first three seasons.
Dislocated shoulders, a bruised tibia, achilles tendonitis, osteitis pubis, ankle and knee problems, and one minor hamstring strain, along with a bout of glandular fever in 2004, have kept him from playing more than 16 games in all bar one of his seven completed AFL seasons.
When trying to establish himself at Port Adelaide after his selection at No. 6 in the 2002 National AFL Draft, the injury setbacks made it hard to build momentum in his first three seasons.
After playing 21 of a possible 22 games and finishing sixth in the Power's best and fairest in 2006, he continued his excellent form in 2007 and 2008 - when he got on the field.
In 2007, he missed eight games, but returned to be one of Port Adelaide’s best in the finals campaign that took the Power into the Grand Final, which they lost to Geelong.
In 2008, his best season, he finished equal sixth in the best and fairest, despite missing seven of the last nine games with achilles tendonitis.
That condition also significantly interrupted his following pre-season. When the 2009 season started, a shoulder injury and then osteitis pubis - while not severe enough to keep him off the field for more than two games - affected his running, agility, kicking and, ultimately, confidence so much that, for the first time since 2005, he was dropped to the SANFL, three times in the second half of the year.
It was quite a comedown for a player who just the previous season had been touted by the South Australian media as a possible successor to then captain Warren Tredrea, but Salopek is not one for self pity.
“It’s been really frustrating, always being struck down with something, and it’s normally been things that have come out of the blue - most of my injuries have been impact ones,” he says.
“Unfortunately, injury is a part of football for most players - if I didn’t want to get injured, I would have played golf or something without contact.
“Besides, there are a lot more important things - and a lot worse things - in life, so how can I complain about missing two or three weeks?”
Read the full version of Nick Bowen’s story in the round four edition of the AFL Record, available at all grounds.
