Did he tip Richmond?
Apprently sheds more light about his knee.
# Devon Smith opens up on life as an AFL player, his knee operation and dealing with the footy bubble
Teammates are so much more than blokes you play footy with.
I spent a bit more than 24 hours in hospital last month for my knee operation and the first person who came to see me was Jake Stringer.
I was really battling with pain and feeling pretty low and he certainly gave me a lift.
I couldnāt talk much, but he sat by me for at least four hours, which I appreciated.
Our club doctor, Bruce Reid, also visited me in hospital which was particularly selfless of him considering heās going through his own health battle.
Then about day four after the op, Michael Hurley came around on the Saturday with my physio Dave Rundle. It was actually Hurlsā birthday. It was a super effort and made me feel good.
I couldnāt attend Friday nightās game against the Hawks. I canāt drive for some time and I canāt get up and down stairs.
But I still watched and cheered from home and took down notes for certain players around what they did well.
My aim is to stay busy.
I plan on mentoring big VFL ruckman Sam Draper, who had an ACL reconstruction last month, and spend some extra time watching and taking players such as Darcy Parish through their weekly vision.
There has been plenty of talk this year about the mental health of footballers. Itās a growing issue.
My life outside the game in Sydney consisted of fishing, catching up with teammates, walking my dog ā all the normal things.
Yet I found myself constantly in work mode. It was very hard to find an outlet from football that didnāt lead back to the game or club.
Everyone I knew was from Greater Western Sydney and if you went for dinner it was with a teammate or a coach.
Although I was there for six years it does take time to get to know people and build a base away from home.
I am thankful for my time with the Giants. I definitely grew up faster and learnt to fend for myself much quicker than if I had been drafted to a Victorian club.
One of my biggest worries about returning to Melbourne was being consumed by the football fishbowl. But the transition has generally been seamless.
Yes, you get recognised a lot more in Melbourne and everything you do is under the microscope 1000-times more compared to Sydney, but strangely enough Iāve found a much better balance when Iām away from the club and switching off.
Before my knee operation I played golf once or twice a week and I am roughly 30 minutes to home, which is Geelong.
If I want to go camping for a night here or there, I can.
My partner Simoneās family farm at Colac is brilliant ā you donāt get reception there so itās one or two days away from the phone.
My mates outside the club donāt even ask about football and obviously spending time with my family has been something I missed while being in Sydney.
My advice for drafted kids is to get out and meet people outside the bubble of the football world.
The football environment can be a stressful place for all sorts of reasons ā selection, form, injuries, contracts, earning respect of older players. The list goes on and on.
Find a hobby thatās not connected to footy, such as study, golf, fishing, reading, community help, even PlayStation.
Also tap into the older and experienced players and ask about their strategies for dealing with all that comes with being an AFL footballer.
At Essendon we have a sport psychologist and plenty of experienced past players such as Luke Ball, James Kelly and Hayden Skipworth to talk to. Their knowledge is invaluable.
I am nearly three weeks post-operation and everything is going well. It was a tough couple of days post op, the first 3-5 days especially.
Simone and I will travel soon to New York and Hawaii. It is a good time for a mental freshen up as I wonāt get away next off-season.
At that point it will be head down and bum up as my rehab program ramps up.
(no link behind a paywall)
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The package delivers.
On and off field.
Nice work Jake.
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How friggin brilliant has Jake been since coming to Essendon? It tells me a lot about the environment that was at the Bulldogs that they wanted to get rid of him.
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Or heās grown up and matured a lot since moving from the Dogs. And whoās to say if he went to the Dogs now, we wouldnāt see the type of person weāre seeing now at essendon.
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I was commenting more on how toxic that environment must have been at the time, they had huge problems and needed to separate the players. It wasnāt a go at the Dogs particularly.
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Love to see the bloke elevated to the leadership group next year.
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He definitely should be. Very professional and pretty selfless from all reports. Leads by example on the field too.
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Thanks for posting that. I had seen the headline but couldnāt open it. I was wondering who the player was. Strringer has been an awesome pick-up for us.
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It shows the bond between Jake and Devon has been close since they came to the club.
Jake also did a few days of Ramadan fasting with Saad last year. He has certainly embraced his team mates.
As for Devonās article (itās his thread afterall) - heās got his head and priorities together has Devon. Heāll be a wonderful mentor for the kids (if not the older blokes) - driven but balanced at the same time.
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Thanks for posting. Gotta love Jakey & Hurls. Bit disappointed that more of the guys didnāt get in to see himā¦
Wishing Dev all the best- glad heāll be involved in some mentoring & canāt wait to see him back next year.
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I reckon he pointed out 2 that went out of their way. Jakey being the first and hurls on his birthday. Iām sure others visited him.
I know nothing about the Bulldogs culture but Stringer has not put a foot wrong since arriving at Essendon. Hesā been totally professional, given 100% every time he runs out, even when the team around him was going badly. Kudos to him for his attitude and application. So glad we got him.
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Future captain material???
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You can tell by the way they interact on the field that they are pretty close, but I had no idea they were that close. Thatās awesome stuff by jake to help him out and by Devon looking for ways to help his teammates out during the week.
Considering jakes reputation when he came, and his reputation now. The guy has been a massive player for us this year but also a massive leader
Stuff like this warms the heart
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totally agree
When you have 40-plus players on an AFL clubās list there are going to be all different sizes, shapes and ages and with that also comes different personalities and backgrounds.
Weāre no different at Essendon.
Conor McKenna, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Dylan Clarke epitomise all that is varied and great in our game.
Conor grew up in Ireland playing a different game to ours and now look at him.
Dyl was raised in Melbourne in the fishbowl of the footy world.
And then thereās āWallaā, from the Tiwi Islands to becoming a household name and the favourite player of many Essendon fans, particularly the kids.
Dashing Irishman Conor McKenna is one of the great personalities who make up the Essendon list. Picture: AAP
My first impression of Conor was: āWow, this guy is wild and has some serious ability.ā
I wasnāt sure how old Conor was as he has some greys coming through. Heās only 23.
I give him plenty of ribbing about his hair. If he ever rips into a teammate, the greys are a good comeback with the āSilver Foxā.
I remember doing bits and pieces of rehab with Conor when I first arrived at the Bombers and I was blown away by his foot skills and vision.
Some of the stuff he does with a soccer ball and his ability to juggle a tennis ball with his feet is outrageous.
When I first saw his Gaelic-style kick to himself, I nodded and thought: āNot bad.ā
We love the way he plays. Heās tough, almost plays carefree footy and you need that from an attacking halfback.
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His ability to take the game on and create is as good as anyone, as is his ability to make a mistake and move on quickly, and if thereās a tough kick he likes the look of he will still go for it.
Being young and so new to the game the sky is the limit for him.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has become a cult hero since joining the Bombers. Picture: Getty Images
Heās been in top form and weāll miss him this weekend as he attends his brotherās wedding in Ireland, but hopefully the trip helps refresh his mind for a big finish to the season.
Dylan Clarke is a guy you want around the locker room ā always so positive and he works as hard as anyone on his craft.
Weāre all rapt to see Dyl finally get a go in the seniors again, he is ultra consistent on game day and plays a selfless role week in, week out. He is beginning to be recognised a bit more which he enjoys, I believe.
Dyl is still very young, only 20, but we hear stories from āWooshaā about Matt Priddis and how he stumbled on to West Coastās list, worked his backside off, became captain and won a Brownlow.
Hopefully Dyl can hold his spot and be a crucial player for us going into the pointy end of the season.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti is all instinct, instinct, instinct.
Dylan Clarke is the type of player you want in the locker room, Devon Smith says. Picture: Michael Klein
āWallaā has a great ability to see the play before it happens and he knows whether the ball is going to drop front and square or hit fingertips and fall over the back of the pack.
Itās pretty hard work to get a crumb in our forward line with Walla, Orazio Fantastia and Jakey Stringer lurking around.
Anthony has an ability to make me laugh or smile when others canāt, even on game day. Sometimes itās a joke, sometimes itās just a funny look. We just have more fun when he is around the group, which is good for a bloke like me whoās pretty intense.
I love the joy he gets from playing the game, a breath of fresh air around the club.
He gets stopped by fans everywhere and takes it all in his stride. The only one who rivals such love among our supporters is āHeppā, but when you have a mop for a hairdo like our captain you deserve to be stopped a lot.
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Thanks for posting. Sounds like we have a pretty tight team.
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Source please, @conjunctivitus
(Iām guessing the author from the thread itās posted in, but thatās all.)
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