Injury Brad Sheppard to have season ending surgery

[PAdman]

http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7155/newsid/145206/default.aspx

"Rising West Coast Eagles star Brad Sheppard has today decided to undergo season-ending surgery after consulting with the club’s medical staff.

Sheppard has battled an ankle injury in the second half of the season and while trying to work through the issue, his impact has been restricted. He had been rested in the last fortnight with little benefit and so has opted to have surgery."

a shame and that's another player down :/. thank god he's having the surgery now and not start of the season so he won't miss too many games

 

[WCEbrody]

Explains his couple quiet games recently, one of our best fringe players..hope he hes a big 2013

 

[Prem87]

IIRC he's had ankle problems in the past as well?

Hopefully this will sort him out for a big preseason and 2013. Sheppard's scope for improvement is huge!

 

[PAdman]

sheppard has a lot of potential but i don't know if he would be a player that would reach that full potential. last year he was terrible, easily one of our worst (maybe because he was played as a backman?) and he was dropped for most of the year because of it.

he's improved a lot this year but i just see him being more of a good backup player in the next year.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

Oh well, good luck to MoJu in the finals.

 

[East coast eagle]

No good, showed some great signs i thought...
Always next year..

 

[Marlin01]

This might be why he seemed to struggle with balance.

 

[ziad]

IIRC he's had ankle problems in the past as well?

Hopefully this will sort him out for a big preseason and 2013. Sheppard's scope for improvement is huge!

absolutely

 

[Reminiscence]

Really backed himself earlier this year and provided some nice line-breaking and elite speed.
Bit disappointing but hopefully he'll come back even better next year.

 

[Smeg Head]

Not really ideal as he was definitely having a little impact as the 21st-22nd player in the team, but realistically Embers being back pushes him back as well as getting Rosa back shortly.

 

[Icanwalk]

That article filled me with hope I must admit. It shows that the eagles staff are taking a long-term approach which is most sensible despite our upcoming finals campaign. It also shows that they expect Sheppard to be an integral part of our future midfield. His role in defense last year was most likely an effort to develop his defensive side before granting him a midfield role. Perhaps we are doing the same thing with Stevenson this year, or so I hope.

Also, he has an excuse for his substandard performances after a promising month or so. Looking forward to him playing a larger role next year and adding to our midfield rotations, possibly usurping Embley for a wing position, allowing Embley to play a role up forward>

 

[Shupe]

One of my favs. Looking forward to '13!

 

[Byron_Clanger]

Ah well, get him right and help him have a break out year next year

 

[Brazen]

Poor bloke - he must be devastated knowing that he's now no chance of having a premiership medal around his neck in September when we win it!

 

[BradWCE]

That sucks. He was having a pretty good season, was really good in the St Kilda game and continued playing well for a number of weeks after that. Dropped off a bit in the last couple of games but that's understandable now. Hope he has a good pre-season and is ready to go for 2013.

 

[Quinz]

If we were in the bottom four this would be considered tanking.

Disappointing for Shep, I wanted to see him back.

 

[WeSt CoAsT EaGLeS]

sheppard has a lot of potential but i don't know if he would be a player that would reach that full potential. last year he was terrible, easily one of our worst (maybe because he was played as a backman?) and he was dropped for most of the year because of it.

he's improved a lot this year but i just see him being more of a good backup player in the next year.

Agree with your last line but I think your judgement of his 2011 season is a little harsh considering he only played six games (and started as sub in a couple IIRC?). I thought he had a decent year this year which showed improvement from his previous two seasons.

With the calibre of our half-backs and wing players, I can't see any position for Sheppard in 2013 other than a back-up wingman who would add some decent depth. Although I was pleased with his contested marking in a few games this season (Collingwood game from memory) so there's definitely plenty of room for improvement in other areas of his game. With a little more flair I could see him playing a role similar to Nicoski in a few seasons - they're a similar build.

 

[Doughboy]

Shame to hear. I never like to hear a player going down.

Has really good pace and will be a good inclusion into our mid-field in 2013

Does anyone know what thie issue was with his ankle?

 

[beatlesmith]

That's a shame. Probably means Mcginnity will keep his spot as the resident utility going into the finals.

I think Shep will be a great replacement for Embley once he hangs up the boots. Similar attributes and similar ability to play on the HFF, HBF and wing. Played like a man this year when he had in the past played like a boy, and has all of the tools to become a very good player for a very long time. Hopefully he comes back fitter than ever next year and can cement a spot in the team.

 

[lyall]

Had a pretty decent year in the end. Much better than expected.

Sad way to end though

 

[Avalor]

SHAME - Had a lot of time for him. He'll be a very good player, and as Woosh has said, will complement our midfield, hopefully next year when he is over his ankle op. His pace and line-breaking ability is just what we need in the midfield in season 2013 / heck - we need it now, but alas, not to be!

 

[Natho]

I do like shep. Hope his ankles recovers well and he has a big preseason.

 

[dajesmac]

Last year he was struggling with a back injury. Injury free this year and was great. He'll be a player.

 

[Oneiros]

I kind of think of him as being similar to Masten - not that great whilst pulling it together but just needs the game time, pre-seasons and maturity to click together and off he'll go. If we can avoid the butcher's bill of injury next year I think we'll go to another level - in a lot of ways we have done that this year, we just got rogered by injury and a lot of other clubs are up and about.

 

[sTeeL]

We are tanking. Its obvious.