WESTERN Bulldogschampion Chris Grant will visit the club’s surgeon tomorrow, with tests to hisinjured knee to have a significant bearing on the 340-game veteran’s playingfuture.
While coachRodney Eade is hopeful Grant’s “twisted knee” will only sideline him for acouple of weeks, more significant damage could spell to the star Bulldog’sglittering career.
Grant’s injury,along with an AC joint injury which is likely to keep teammate DanielGiansiracusa out for two to three weeks, further soured a miserable Saturdaynight for the Bulldogs, who went down to Melbourne by 42 points at TelstraDome.
And Grant, wholeft the field midway through the opening term, was forced to sit and watcharguably the club’s worst performance of the season from the sidelines.
“Chris twistedhis knee. It looks like early prognosis is cartilage, meniscus cartilage, buthe’ll be seeing (club surgeon) David Young tomorrow,” Eade said.
“It does (make ithard) for him for the rest of the year I’d imagine … hopefully it’s onlycartilage.
Asked whether hethought the club’s game record holder would play on in 2008, Eade wasuncertain.
“I’m not toosure. Chris obviously keeps his cards close to his chest,” Eade said.
“I would’vethought with his form over the last couple of weeks that if he’d had areasonable run the last three or four games and our form was okay, he mighthave thought about going on. But I don’t know where he’s at. I haven’t spokento him.”
The Bulldogscoach disappointed with his team’s woeful effort against the Demons.
The Dogs were nomatch for Melbourne after quarter-time, and despite his team still being in thehunt for the top eight – thanks to several sides around the Bulldogs alsolosing – it was little consolation for Eade.
“I think stillmathematically we’re a chance … on tonight’s form we’re no chance,” Eade said.
“I think it’smore about the way you go about it.
“We just didn’thave the zip, and I think as a club we’ve just got to be better than what weare mentally.
“As going in asfavourites we tend to struggle. You know we’re okay as an underdog, but we’vegot to be better than that and the performance tonight just wasn’t acceptable.”
Eade said theteam’s youngsters were performing well, indicating that perhaps a furtherinjection of youth was needed in the remaining rounds.
Looking furtherforward, the coach believes some players don’t need to be told they might beplaying for their futures in coming weeks.
“We’ve got tomake measured decisions, of what’s best for us,” he said.
“At this stage,there’s a few that are a bit off the mark.”
Brad Johnson, alate withdrawal for the Demons clash, will be right for next week’s crucialclash against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
Eade said theclub considered risking their star goalkicker for Saturday night’s loss to theDemons.
“We were close(to playing him) … but in the end the medical department was just a strong‘no’.”
