Adam Cooney

[bombermick]

He should be worrying about life after footy. Hopefully he's set himself up for life financially, because his quality of life will suffer if he keeps pushing his body when it's telling him it's had enough. It's also sad to watch a former champ playing on when their body won't allow them to reach their former glories i.e Lleyton Hewitt.

 

[Pat_Footy]

It appears his knee wont allow him to play midfield anymore and for the most part has struggled in the forward line. How long can he continue to play if his form does not improve. Does anyone think he might have to retire early, would be terrible but how much longer can he play for?

It's very worrying. Youth may currently be on his side, however as soon as the dogs have a fringe mid/forward struggling to get a game, his performances will come under great scrutiny. When that day arrives, his career will be officially over.

 

[Ant_]

- Cooney has done 1 pre season since 2008
- The fracturing of the knee cap damages the posterior surface and tears the meniscus cartillage between the bottom of the femur and top if the tibia
- damage to the cartillage and exposed bone behind the knee promotes rubbing of exposed bone on the surface joint. The cartilllage cant be repaired once it's damage, and there is no technology available in medicine that can repair it.
- from the exposed bone, arthritis forms which is based on the constant inflamation of the joint. This debilitating condition starts to degenerate the joint even further with the constant movement that a knee must provide. This results in arthritic disease and further joint breakdown
- short term management is based on a gentle phyiotherapy program with a combination of injections into the joint in the form of synvisc
- off season requires arthroscopic surgery to remove the bone spur growths brought on by the inflamation of teh joint combined with the exposed bone rubbing together
- the long term prognosis is not good. Knee replacement

Sadly, there is no road to recovery that will ever get him back to where he was in 2008.

Good summary, hopefully this will silence the fools attacking him over his form since 2008

 

[crownie]

Interesting article about Garry Hocking in the paper yesterday. He had a chat with Greg Williams in 95 when he had knee troubles and Williams told him to change his game and become better with his hands.

i think Cooney needs to do this, forget about playing in the midfield, bulk up and become better with his hands below his knees because he would still be value playing in a forward pocket.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I'm not sure how carrying extra weight is going to help.

 

[Ando727]

He should retire this year. He can't be enjoying his football. Being able to walk properly for the next 50 years is more important than 2 or 3 years of substandard football. Getting paid big money is not enough to justify what he's doing to his future.

 

[tigers_of_old_08]

It's sad, really. Only 26. He'll be gone by 29

Unfortunately signs arent good for Adam, and its clear he wont reach elite level again after his latest knee surgery.

More importantly if in fact he can play at a good/very good level for 3 more years (possibly as a sub) then that'd be an excellent outcome for him. I imagine such a debilitating condition would challenge an athlete mentally as well as physically.

 

[_Mike_]

I'm not sure how carrying extra weight is going to help.

It doesnt. More weight loading the joint wears it down quicker

 

[_Mike_]

bulk up and become better with his hands below his knees because he would still be value playing in a forward pocket.

Bulking up isnt the way to go crownie, and more weight carried through the legs & knees will accelerate the wearing down of the knee

 

[Pat_Footy]

Hopefully he doesn't do a Johnno and stay on for too long to the detriment of the team.

 

[Vikingblood]

He played some good games early in the year and hopefully it can still be managed. If it means a month off in the middle of the season or something like that?

Didn't McLeod have a similar issue for a long time?

Yes he did. Was basically bone on bone on his knee from very early in his career. In fact after the '98 Grand Final, the headline was "He did it on one leg". He had a very detailed management program put in place, so maybe the Dogs should take some advice from the AFC on this. Of course each injury is unique, but couldn't hurt. We all want to see the best running around for their clubs.

 

[Elite Master]

Murphy claimed on 360 that he still had that burst of speed in his legs and in his opinion, early on, looked like ripping the game apart vintage style, but the ball wasn't bouncing his way. I personally never see that happening ever again unfortunately, but it was a interesting observation.

Hopefully he can still be a worthy player for the remaining of his career, though he is always going to be a shadow of what he once was.

 

[ManOfClay]

I empathise with Cooney- being in a similar situation myself (albeit a few levels below AFL) with my ankle.

If it takes me a good amount of time being worked on before I can play a game of country footy or complete training, I wonder how much time is spent getting Cooney right to play and train at the elite level?

 

[Pat_Footy]

This has set the dogs back a re-build. Trades and poaching will always get more air-time but in reality, an injury plagued player will net the club zero.

 

[Sttew]

I am on record in another thread saying Cooney shouldn't have won the 2008 Brownlow (Ablett was IMO the player of the year)? That aside, it is a massive pity injury has plagued Cooney in recent years. He is a likable guy and his best football is as good as it gets.

If he is forced to retire early Cooney will join a list of talented players cut short by injury.

 

[GoalSneak38]

I am on record in another thread saying Cooney shouldn't have won the 2008 Brownlow (Ablett was IMO the player of the year)? That aside, it is a massive pity injury has plagued Cooney in recent years. He is a likable guy and his best football is as good as it gets.

If he is forced to retire early Cooney will join a list of talented players cut short by injury.

Not sure why you said that

 

[GoalSneak38]

Yes he did. Was basically bone on bone on his knee from very early in his career. In fact after the '98 Grand Final, the headline was "He did it on one leg". He had a very detailed management program put in place, so maybe the Dogs should take some advice from the AFC on this. Of course each injury is unique, but couldn't hurt. We all want to see the best running around for their clubs.

I'm sure the dogs medical staff have done their research

 

[hayes]

Really sad to see, was one of my favourite players to watch when he was up and about. It's a cruel game.

 

[Vikingblood]

I'm sure the dogs medical staff have done their research

I'm sure they have, doesn't mean there aren't other avenues to be explored. Like most, just want to see players like Cooney at their absolute best.

 

[Thommo 42]

If he can get back to 80-85% he will still be a very serviceable player.

at 100% he was a superstar.

 

[Smiley Boy]

Interesting to hear Eade talk about it a bit on 360 tonight (Tues). He mentioned that Cooney still has his explosive speed, but just can't get the volume of training in to be able to repeat those efforts throughout a match. I'm sure the medical staff would look at all options, but you've got to wonder if there's not some sort of surgery or rehabilitation program out there. Even if the time frame is 18 months, it'd be worth it to have him play another 50 games.

Would be good to see him maybe playing out of the square he is still a decent size with that little bit of explosiveness so surely that would help him manage his knee with a permanent role as a leading forward?

 

[josh the gent]

I don't see why he can't be managed and play as a very effective forward pocket. He has great hands, and would prove a very difficult match-up for most defenders. Playing as an FP should significantly reduce the amount of running he has to do, and we should engineer our forward line to make sure him and our full-forward (Ayce Cordy) stay close to goal. If Ayce brings the ball to ground, I am tipping Cooney's burst of pace should be pretty useful.

However, the problem is that we persist in trying to use him for bursts through the midfield. Stupid management IMO, something that has plagued by beloved club since the dawn of time.

From all accounts, his injury is not hugely different to McLeod's, so the ideas that we should have a chat to the Crows about how they did it is certainly worth entertaining.

 

[Barkly St End]

I don't see why he can't be managed and play as a very effective forward pocket...

I hope that's possible. He has shown a nose for goals in the past, and he can present well as a leading small forward (in support of taller targets), even dragging his opponent away from the hot spot. He might also become a valuable sub-specialist, being able to impact games when opponents are tiring.

Obviously that's not ideal for maintaining match fitness, but he is already at a stage where he is struggling to do the necessary training to maintain match fitness.

Beyond that, I'd like the club to find a longer term role for him, so that he stay in footy a bit longer and assist the club in other areas like coaching, mentoring and recruitment.

 

[Tommycash]

I am on record in another thread saying Cooney shouldn't have won the 2008 Brownlow (Ablett was IMO the player of the year)?

Personally, I agree that Ablett was the player of that year, however Cooney is deserving of a brownlow medal. At his best he was one of the best the game has seen. If his injury hadn't cruelled his career we would no doubt have seen him up on the podium again in my belief so I think it's fair. Everything works out.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

Interesting to hear Eade talk about it a bit on 360 tonight (Tues). He mentioned that Cooney still has his explosive speed, but just can't get the volume of training in to be able to repeat those efforts throughout a match. I'm sure the medical staff would look at all options, but you've got to wonder if there's not some sort of surgery or rehabilitation program out there. Even if the time frame is 18 months, it'd be worth it to have him play another 50 games.

Club has just spent $100,000 on a special running machine that takes the pressure off his leg, but still 'smashes' him in terms of training. Expect to see an improved Cooney next year, all going well.