Player Column – Jarrod Parry Round 9

TO BE back playing regular league football is a fantastic feeling after what has been a pretty tough time with some injuries have had to overcome the last few years.

I reflect back on my league debut back in 2010 and it was a Friday night game against West Perth and it was about 10 degrees on a cold, wet and windy night at Fremantle Oval. I was pretty pleased with the weather as it brought everyone down to my level. We played well and had a great win which is something I will always remember.

After coming off my first senior year and managing a handful of league games, I was looking forward to having a strong pre-season and hopefully become a consistent league footballer in 2011. In our first intra-club scratch match of the year I changed direction like I have done thousands of times before but my knee buckled and gave way. A week later I saw the doctor to get it assessed and I received the news that I had ruptured my ACL. The positive was I had been booked in for surgery the next day, giving me little time to think about it.

I came out of surgery feeling confident I could get through my rehab and be back playing in no time. My first hiccup was being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis one-week post surgery. I was feeling old and fragile not only on the field but off the field as well! During the 2011 season Adam McIntosh ruptured his ACL and Jaymie Graham suffered one of the worst knee injuries I have ever seen. Working closely with these two throughout our rehab made it easier being off the track. 

I missed the entire 2011 season, and wasn’t sure if I would be the same again on the field, but my goal was to be back playing. My season back consisted of seven reserves games in 2012, until in Round 12 against Swan Districts I went to change direction again and felt my knee give way exactly like the first time. Immediately I knew I had ruptured my ACL for the second time. 

Being in rehab for the second half of the 2012 year was a difficult time as I lost confidence in my body. The 2013 pre-season saw a new face down at the club in Mike Vegar, who was in charge of strength and conditioning. During my rehab Mikey monitored me closely which was terrific for my rehab but during those running sessions my thoughts were different. In all seriousness though, without Mike and the medical support team at the club I’m not sure if I would have been able to get back and play WAFL football. 

My second comeback I played the second half of the 2013 season in the reserves. I gained some confidence as I managed 14 games for the season including a reserves premiership. From there on I have had minimal injuries and have been able to string together a couple pre-seasons and one full playing season. Last year I made my way into the league side for the second half of the season and played some consistent footy. 

This year has seen a new coach, new players and an overall fresh feeling at the club. I missed Round 1 due to injury and played Round 2 in the reserves. Then in Round 3 it saw me work my way back into league side and I have managed to hold my spot since. It has been great playing regular league football and feeling a part of the group again.

Personally I am looking on building on my form and getting back to the way I played prior to my injury run. As a team we are working hard each week on the track and implementing our style of footy in the games. Leading up to our bye we have shown promising signs and look forward building more and more towards the end of the season.  

Looking back since 2011 it has been a tough road, but I am thankful to be back playing football. It sounds cliché, but I wouldn’t be at the club if it weren’t for my teammates that always showed so much support throughout the past four seasons.