Retired #26: Cale Hooker - Has announced his retirement at season's end 🍷

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Contract Status: Retiring at the end of Season 2021
Last Game Played: Round 19, 2021 (omit)
Injury Status: n/a
 
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Tim Watson said on SEN this morning that Cale had spent most of the week in hospital on the drip with an elbow infection. He was released on Friday.
Ergh. Good on him still playing the day after. Can only imagine the rabble we’d be without him
 
Ergh. Good on him still playing the day after. Can only imagine the rabble we’d be without him

Also goes to show how banged up the side is all year really -

Captain sick and has the foot
Fantasia can't run and various soft tissues all year
Shiel hamstring
McKernan sick all week and a severe hamstring this year
Stringer sick all week and had the hamstring and leg injuries
ZClarke sick and in hospital all week plus hamstring Earl year
Saad carrying hamstring tightness
McKenna had groin issues all preseason
Hooker back and this infection
Hurley AC joint and hip issues
Ambrose quad
Ruckman out with a severe calf
Backup out with ACL
Daniher out with OP
Stewart out with OP
Smith out with knee

On top of that two regular senior players have been left out for kids in bags and Myers.

The team isn't anything like what our best 22 was end of last year or even what our ideal 22 looks like.
 
I think we saw that Saturday, no wonder the bloke could barely run.
No Hooker is what the first four rounds of the season looked like, though we had other healthy players KPPs back then. Last few weeks were like having half a Hooker with the back problem being managed, can't run or jump (less than before anyway). Worse still when you have half a hooker and only in half the ground at a time, when you really need two of him. So I guess we had a quarter of a Hooker at each end? The one that's been in hospital all week and is getting beaten up by antibiotics... well. I don't really know where I was going with this, sorry
 
No Hooker is what the first four rounds of the season looked like, though we had other healthy players KPPs back then. Last few weeks were like having half a Hooker with the back problem being managed, can't run or jump (less than before anyway). Worse still when you have half a hooker and only in half the ground at a time, when you really need two of him. So I guess we had a quarter of a Hooker at each end? The one that's been in hospital all week and is getting beaten up by antibiotics... well. I don't really know where I was going with this, sorry
Basically we need more fit hookers.
 
No Hooker is what the first four rounds of the season looked like, though we had other healthy players KPPs back then. Last few weeks were like having half a Hooker with the back problem being managed, can't run or jump (less than before anyway). Worse still when you have half a hooker and only in half the ground at a time, when you really need two of him. So I guess we had a quarter of a Hooker at each end? The one that's been in hospital all week and is getting beaten up by antibiotics... well. I don't really know where I was going with this, sorry
I'm glad I wasn't the only one getting lost half way through that post. 😂
 
Also goes to show how banged up the side is all year really -

Captain sick and has the foot
Fantasia can't run and various soft tissues all year
Shiel hamstring
McKernan sick all week and a severe hamstring this year
Stringer sick all week and had the hamstring and leg injuries
ZClarke sick and in hospital all week plus hamstring Earl year
Saad carrying hamstring tightness
McKenna had groin issues all preseason
Hooker back and this infection
Hurley AC joint and hip issues
Ambrose quad
Ruckman out with a severe calf
Backup out with ACL
Daniher out with OP
Stewart out with OP
Smith out with knee

On top of that two regular senior players have been left out for kids in bags and Myers.

The team isn't anything like what our best 22 was end of last year or even what our ideal 22 looks like.
But then there's the rest of the fringe 22:
Brown's wrist injury (5 games)
Mutch's hamstring (12 weeks) and then knee injury (rest of the season)
Begley's ACL (no preseason and missed four 2019 games)
Laverde's ankle and hamstring (4 games missed, 3 more compromised)
Redman's ankle+knee surgery (no pre-season and missed two 2019 games)
Gleeson's ankle (no preseason) and cheekbone (4 games)

And the several minor injuries which have affected our depth:
Mosquito (h'string)
Jok (knee)
Dea (MCL)
Zerk (ankle)
Mynott (calf)
Long (AC joint)

Seems like every other week has brought another severe or season ending injury :/

To be completely fair, Shiel only missed one, Saad and McKenna haven't missed any. ZClarke missed one with illness, that was two weeks ago already. There's a certain amount of players that have injuries and are managed through them every year, that's normal in any sport. The most unfortunate part is the timing.

Up until round 14/15, our injuries outside the forward line were limited to Devon Smith and fringe/depth players. Fringe/depth injuries aren't really a problem when your best 22 is healthy, but when your KPPs start dropping like flies, your second last KPD has to play forward while severely hampered, and your only best 22 KPF has to play as first ruck, then you lose another key midfielder as well, there isn't an area on the ground that isn't heavily compromised.

To win 5 games in a row through all that is pretty much on the back of the bloke whose thread we're currently in. (Random trivia: we haven't won 5 in a row since 2013.) Chook is absolutely critical, there's no one else left. I don't think even two or three of our remaining players combined could play the role/s he does.






Typed this the other day and forgot to hit send. So we can now add Guelfi to the list. /sigh
 

Wearybomber

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He has been amazing as a leader and under great pressure in the last few weeks so whatever happens for the last few games we wouldn't be in the eight now if he hadn't been in the side .
 

blitzer

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Aug 27, 2006
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No doubt he had a shocker last week but I'm pretty willing to back him in if he says he's fit. I mean the bloke has won 2 games for us in the last 6 weeks with some of his last quarter efforts. A true heart and soul player for us.
 
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