Dogs and knee surgery - a brief history

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JJHunter

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Jan 15, 2008
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I have gone here in the past and raised some questions about this - or at least suggested we needed to change things up a bit ...

Our recent history recovering from knee surgery has been deplorable - with players either re- doing the knee or never getting proper motion back in the knee. I wonder just how much the club have looked into it and compared it to recoveries by players at other clubs - typically under Julian phellers knife...

Smith x 2
Libba Snr x 2
Darcy x 2 ( or was it 3?)
West and Cooney cleanups - never recovered
Grant - never really was himself again

I'm actually trying to think of a success surgery in the last 2 decades - sure there is one but I simply cannot recall.
Did Higgins do one? Murphy?

This is not getting into other players who have also had surgery.. The likes of johno who was never the same after surgery or lake who took 3 years to recover. Especially shoulders

We have all these backman or ruckman who have had shoulder surgery last two years
Williams
Roberts
Roughead
Campbell
Cordy
Talia had a clean up from memory.

I just hope this short history is being taken into consideration by the club !
 
Last edited:
I have gone here in the past and raised some questions about this - or at least suggested we needed to change things up a bit ...

Our recent history recovering from knee surgery has been deplorable - with players either re- doing the knee or never getting proper motion back in the knee. I wonder just how much the club have looked into it and compared it to recoveries by players at other clubs - typically under Julian phellers knife...

Smith x 2
Libba Snr x 2
Darcy x 2 ( or was it 3?)
West and Cooney cleanups - never recovered
Grant - never really was himself again

I'm actually trying to think of a success surgery in the last 2 decades - sure there is one but I simply cannot recall.
Did Higgins do one? Murphy?

This is not getting into other players who have also had surgery.. The likes of johno who was never the same after surgery or lake who took 3 years to recover. Especially shoulders

We have all these backman or ruckman who have had shoulder surgery last two years
Williams
Roberts
Roughead
Campbell
Cordy
Talia had a clean up from memory.

I just hope this short history is being taken into consideration by the club !
Griffen and murphy both did their knees I'm pretty sure .
 

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wian

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Griffen had a dodgy knee when drafted.......he never did one though
im pretty sure griff buckled his knee in a harsh tackle against port or brisbane 4-5 years back -

Murph definitely did a knee when that turd burglar Rocca tackled him :( Inexcusable what he did to Murph
 
Griff dislocated his knee against Brisbane, but that isn't what kept him out for the rest of that year, was some stomach complications or something.
 

BrisDog

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im pretty sure griff buckled his knee in a harsh tackle against port or brisbane 4-5 years back -

Murph definitely did a knee when that turd burglar Rocca tackled him :( Inexcusable what he did to Murph
Griff's was not a ACL.
Murph's was a ACL. He obviously recovered 100%.
 

JJHunter

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So is it just me worried about the numbers of reoccurrences after surgery at our club compared to other clubs ?
 
Feb 11, 2008
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Murph did both knees iirc. Griffen did a patella. Hahn did an acl at some point too I think.
I'm also not sure how doing two knees almost a decade apart can be seen as a failure or Chris when he was 30 and played into his mid 30s.

Darcy and Cooney are the only legitimate queries I'd say and Cooney's was always just about management.
 

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Golden_6

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I know Cross did a knee and missed about 10 weeks in 2007 and came back fine. Murphy came back really well after his too.

Sometimes unfortunately it has a lot to do with genetics. Some just have weaker tendons and ligaments that may not heal as well as others. We could just be unlucky but hey who knows there might be something to it.
 
I have gone here in the past and raised some questions about this - or at least suggested we needed to change things up a bit ...

Our recent history recovering from knee surgery has been deplorable - with players either re- doing the knee or never getting proper motion back in the knee. I wonder just how much the club have looked into it and compared it to recoveries by players at other clubs - typically under Julian phellers knife...

Smith x 2
Libba Snr x 2
Darcy x 2 ( or was it 3?)
West and Cooney cleanups - never recovered
Grant - never really was himself again

I'm actually trying to think of a success surgery in the last 2 decades - sure there is one but I simply cannot recall.
Did Higgins do one? Murphy?

This is not getting into other players who have also had surgery.. The likes of johno who was never the same after surgery or lake who took 3 years to recover. Especially shoulders

We have all these backman or ruckman who have had shoulder surgery last two years
Williams
Roberts
Roughead
Campbell
Cordy
Talia had a clean up from memory.

I just hope this short history is being taken into consideration by the club !

How 'bout some comparative analysis from across the competition?

edit: Mike beat me to it.
 

wian

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supposedly, the experts say that once the ACL graft is re attached, its stronger than before

( i honestly find this hard to believe for some reason ) :(
 
supposedly, the experts say that once the ACL graft is re attached, its stronger than before

( i honestly find this hard to believe for some reason ) :(

Bob has often mentioned that he now considers his reconstructed knee as his good knee
 
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Murph's knee took about five years and several 'scrapes' to get right. He had constant trouble with it until about 2012 when he started playing his best footy again.

If he's being counted as a success story in here, then yes I'd say it's right to question who's doing our surgeries.
 
How 'bout some comparative analysis from across the competition?

edit: Mike beat me to it.
I'd agree. It's more the players' body structure than the clubs' fault. Surgeons like David Young would be rare as hens teeth and would know their discipline back to front. Look at Alex Johnson and Daniel Menzel as cases in point to player design vs mismanagement.
 
Griff dislocated his knee against Brisbane, but that isn't what kept him out for the rest of that year, was some stomach complications or something.
twisted bowel I think. Knee injury wasn't great though.
Bob and Mitch Hahn did their ACL's in the same year.
 
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Murph's knee took about five years and several 'scrapes' to get right. He had constant trouble with it until about 2012 when he started playing his best footy again.

If he's being counted as a success story in here, then yes I'd say it's right to question who's doing our surgeries.
Seriously? He did it in 2006 and played 24 games in 2008 and was in the AA squad. I think that's a win dude. Especially considering he's averaged about 20 games a year since.
 
im pretty sure griff buckled his knee in a harsh tackle against port or brisbane 4-5 years back -

Murph definitely did a knee when that turd burglar Rocca tackled him :( Inexcusable what he did to Murph

Yeah, I was sitting right above them when that happened. Didn't like the way he rag dolled and twisted Murf. I would have thought Neanderthal would be a better description for Pebbles Rocca.
 
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Seriously? He did it in 2006 and played 24 games in 2008 and was in the AA squad. I think that's a win dude. Especially considering he's averaged about 20 games a year since.

Remember the 08 prelim? Murph was spraying them everywhere. He couldn't actually feel his leg he was on that many psinkillers, and so he had no touch. He was still good when he was on the park, but that was all too often with the aid of a jab. For 5 or so years he had continual issues that had him considering early retirement. That's what prompted his shift back to the back line, so he could run in straighter lines and prolong his career. Happily it settled down again and he is back to his best. I still think his prime was partially robbed from him, and it all adds to the 'what if' of the 08-10 years.
 

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