So, he only had the ankle reco done because of the back issue? They were happy to have him play through an ankle injury which required a reconstruction?
I’ve probably misinterpreted that.
Nope I think you have interpreted that spot on.
The fitness department is a joke.
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I suspect they realised he was going to be out for ages with the back, and decided to do his ankle while he was off the park. If he’d been able to play through the ankle issue, he probably would have had the op done in the off-season.
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Is that wise to have a young player push through an entire season on an ankle requiring a reco?
Any danger of ever getting a tall player on the ■■■■■■■ park EFC?
No idea. I don’t even know what an ankle reconstruction actually is. Though a quick google says recovery time is 4-6 months, which is JUST possible within a standard offseason (at least a standard EFC offseason which, begins at the start of September…)
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There would be plenty of instances players carry various things across the year that they aim to get fixed once season done. Sometimes multiple things.
Jones was still running high k’s in games, flying for marks etc.
Perhaps it was more annoyance factor on ankle and only way now to sort it is reco
He’s certainly had troubles with his ankles, players roll ankles all the time in the AFL but he seemingly had it happen a lot. Perhaps his own poor landing techniques not just unlucky
Hopefully he can get it right as a tall fwd you are constantly going to be jumping and being hit by the pack/defenders and not always landing perfectly that’s for sure
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Over half of our key talls are injured, over half of our high end draft picks across the last 4 years are injured. This is getting stupid now.
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Any ‘reconstruction’ is where they replace/repair a ruptured ligament. It doesn’t mean you pull all the pieces out and put it back together. I have no idea but it could be there’s a small outside ankle ligament that you can ordinarily cover pretty well for by taping (which you can’t do for say an ACL or other knee ligament). So it’s not crazy, necessarily, to say you might as well fix something you could play through while you can’t play for other reasons (back).
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He’s had problems with the ankle / foot all the way through iirc.
Fingers crossed this is the long term fix done and dusted. It’s a no brainer to do it now. Mothballs, get the stress fracture sorted, sort the ankle, reset. Critical preseason for him coming up this year, 2024 will be defining one way or the other. Desperately needs clean run at it.
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Yeah, I’ve had a knee reco myself (0/10, would not recommend) so i know the general principle. But my impression was that there was piles of different ligaments in the ankle. Presumably the complexity of the op and the recovery time would vary depending on which one it was.
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Yep.
Go easy on him…he’s Dodoro’s best mate, certainly biggest supporter on Blitz.
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If he gets his body right this year and shows signs of improvement in 2024 all good and well. If he doesn’t - delist.
There is no way Ants can cop that. He’s been fighting a one man war with Dodoro emblazoned on his chest for a decade or more. Maplestone is a Johnny come lately by comparison!!
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A more apt explanation is that he is what RFK is to Jackets but for Ants
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Yes that works actually!!
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Really good highlight package and shows the natural talent he has.
Still need to keep in mind during this breakout 2021 year, he still only averaged 7 disposals, 3 marks and 1 goal a game. For me, he hasn’t shown he can get involved in games enough and just doesn’t have that competitive edge.
If i were list manager, I’d offer him one year to get his body right and see what he can produce in 2024.
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Late to the party here, but I thought that his professionalism being questioned was public knowledge? I recall it even being discussed it detail on the lunchtime catch-up podcast over pre season also
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■■■■.