Sarrey is worried about the Crows’ spate of injuries...
Craigy mentioned it at his press conference: “It was a very important play for us,” he said.
He was talking about a goal the Crows scored from a centre bounce in the last quarter, the match still in the balance. Jacobs won the knock and Dangerfield urged the ball forward, not taking possession but keeping it in front of him, running the gauntlet of the opposition defence. Eventually he fell, disappearing under a Saintly stampede. Second-gamer Matthew Wright took up the fight, keeping the ball moving until it reached Knights, who somehow got it to his right boot. His right boot! He doesn’t HAVE a right boot! The ball wobbled through and the Saint Kilda surge was thwarted.
It was a goal kicked by will power. First Jacobs, then Dangerfield, Wright and finally Knights willed the ball forward and, in so doing, took ownership of the game.
It is that sort of strength of character that defines a team. When such acts become commonplace - and sometimes I think it won’t take long before they do - the Crows will be formidable. Before Saturday night they had lost three in a row; that they could assert themselves as they did was a very good sign.
But for enduring success they need to stay healthy. After the game, 5aa’s Steven Rowe squawked that he was sick of hearing Craigy say that the young Crows aren’t hardened AFL footballers yet. Nevertheless it is true. They have plenty of talent but they are inconsistent, they disappear in games - as they did in the third quarter against the Saints - and they keep getting injured.
Davis’s popped shoulder, for example, was a good reason not to pop the cork after the win. We can all see how good this lad is going to be, but an injury like that could set him back a year. At its worst, it could end his career.
We supporters demand much of our players. We want to see efforts of will, like those of Dangerfield and co, and we want to see acts of courage, for which Davis is already renown. We want players to come back from injury as quickly as possible.
Perhaps we demand too much. A player can bow out of the game at any time because a shoulder never repaired properly, or - like Trent Hentschel - his knee exploded, or he copped too many head-high hits. It’s a tragedy for the player, and inevitably it weakens the club.
The young Crows are injury-prone. Yes, they need to get games under their belt, but they also need to stay healthy.
It’s not just about luck. It’s about learning to protect themselves and each other, and it’s about being stronger than any other team. No one at Collingwood seems to get injured these days. They play with courage, no doubt, but it’s the courage of an aircraft carrier. They dictate the game and impose their will.
The Crows will be in the hunt for the premiership when they are strong in body and strong in mind - a combination of will and well-being. We can see that this group is becoming strong in mind by the character they showed in the win against Saint Kilda. Now, if only their bodies can hold up…
Sarrey’s first novel, Prohibited Zone, featuring a fictional ex-Crows player, is now available at Wakefield Press and will soon be in bookstores.
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