Geelong Advertiser |
GROVEDALE’S premiership ambitions have been rocked by a season-ending knee injury to captain Jarrod Young.
Young will undergo a knee reconstruction next Tuesday after injuring his ACL last Saturday against St Albans.
It is a cruel blow to the Tigers, who sit fourth on the ladder and face teams inside the top five in four of their next five games.
Young, who rejoined his junior club last season after 10 years playing in the VFL and SANFL, felt his right knee go in a routine tackle in the second quarter against the Supersaints, and watched from the sidelines as his team went down by two points.
The 28-year-old admitted he was still coming to terms with the devastating news.
“I’m still trying to get my head around it, but it’s just one of those things. I go in for surgery on Tuesday; it’s a bit disappointing, but that’s life,” Young said.
“It’s disappointing for me personally, but there’s still a lot to achieve.
“The boys were really good. I basically just told them it’s pretty simple, if we lose a soldier we replace a soldier, and that’s how it’s got to be.
“We’ve got a really good group of boys and the twos are on top of the ladder, so we have plenty of depth. I just want to see the boys succeed and the club succeed, and if I’m not out there on the field I’ll be doing everything I can off it to help the team achieve the ultimate goal this year.”
Grovedale coach Grant Tanner was also crushed by Young’s injury, but was confident his captain — also an assistant coach at Burdoo Reserve, would play a major role for the rest of the season.
Young is in the hands of leading Melbourne orthopedic surgeon Julian Feller, with the aim of being ready to go for Round 1, 2015.
“I’ve already been down at the Elite Training Centre in Geelong and structured a program, that’s where I’ll be doing all my rehabilitation,” he said.
“There are 10 months until Round 1 next year, so all going well I’ll be back by then.”
