Recovery
On Wednesday of preliminary final week, while most of the competition and his teammates were embarking on their post-season break, Matt Crouch walked through the doors at West Lakes to start work at 8.30am. Crouch’s preparation for 2022 started three weeks before the 2021 season had finished when it was determined he wouldn’t make it back from groin surgery to play an AFL game this year. That marked a shift for the midfielder, who put aside months of frustration and disappointment to set his sights on returning to the field next year and hopefully the form that saw him crowned All Australian and Club Champion in his first 125-games.
Back to work
So, last Wednesday, he spent over two hours in the gym with Club physios, strengthening his body for it to be ready for the rigours of pre-season training. “The five-year plus players are due back on December 8 but individually I’ll continue to train all the way through,” Crouch said. “Not being able to play this year I haven’t done a heap, so I’m looking to get myself cherry ripe and get the body completely right so I can have a big year next year.”
Progress
“I’m progressing pretty well, I obviously pulled the pin with about three weeks to go in the season and I’m not running at the moment but I’m doing a heap of cross training and strength work so hopefully that holds me in good stead when I get back running in a couple of weeks. “The plan is to get myself pain free, get my strength right and hopefully by pre-season I’m right to go.”
Challenges
This year was the most challenging Crouch has faced in his AFL career, which started in 2013 when he was drafted by the Crows with Pick No.23. He played the AFL pre-season game against Port Adelaide at Noarlunga in March, but did not feature in a competitive game again until his sole SANFL outing at Prospect in July. That day, Crouch had 28 disposals and eight clearances which proved his touch hadn’t deserted him in his time out of the game, but it was followed by more frustration when he reported groin soreness and was sidelined a week later.
The battle
“It was frustrating to be honest because when I’m out there I feel like I know I can still play at a high level,” he said. “But my body let me down and I couldn’t get things right, after the surgery I thought I’d get back out there and I was just pulling up sore. “During my career I’ve never really had a long-term injury so it was something new for me and I battled pretty hard at times, but with the support of the footy club and some of the boys it helped me through."
The doubt
“I feel like now I’ve got some time to rehab it properly and a bit of time before games start kicking in and pre-season, I feel like I can get myself right for next season. “I’ve watched a lot of footy this year and by doing that you get itchy feet so I did miss the game and I can’t wait to get back out there next year. “A lot of times with these groin injuries you do feel like, ‘Am I ever going to get back to 100 per cent?’ “And then you see so many players within the AFL industry have these injuries and get back, so it does give you confidence.”
Optimism
Despite being sidelined this year, Crouch was encouraged by what he saw from Adelaide’s team which won seven games including toppling Melbourne and Geelong. “Our young group this year really showed the potential they’ve got, followed by a lot of senior guys playing some really solid footy,” he said. “You look at Seedsman’s year, Lairdy’s year, Ben Keays, Tex when he was out there was really good as well, and some of these younger guys coming through are going to be super for the footy club going forward."
Back in the game
“I feel like we made some real in-roads with the way we played and the brand of footy throughout the season. “Our list is constantly improving and I think we’ll go to the draft and trade period this year and hopefully bring in some guys that will really help us going forward so we’re on the right track. “It will be good to get back in there (midfield) and help out, some of our young guys like Sam Berry, Luke Pedlar, they’re going to be great players so I’m looking forward to coming in and playing alongside them.”
Deal done
The 26-year-old, who is part of Adelaide’s leadership group, last week signed a two-year contract extension meaning he will remain a Crow until at least 2023. “It’s a big relief to finally get it done,” he said. “Obviously it was a challenging year with some injury and not getting out on the ground but to get the deal done and be at the Adelaide Footy Club for another two years I’m very excited about. “My intention was to always stay in Adelaide, my partner loves Adelaide and we love living here, and I think the footy club is on the right track and fans would have seen that throughout the year so it was good to get the deal finally done.”
