benrick
Debutant
As reported on the herald sun webiste, Steve Johnson has injured himself in an incident very similar to David Spriggs' injury 2 years ago.....
GEELONG young gun Steve Johnson's pre-season is in disarray after a weekend incident at the Torquay Hotel.
Johnson, 20, fell from a fence and badly rolled his right ankle, which could mean several weeks on the sidelines.
More details of the injury will be known today when the results of X-rays and scans are known.
Johnson's injury is a body blow because the young forward emerged as a genuine talent this year.
He played 15 games in his second season and kicked 23 goals, including an eye-catching six-goal haul against Brisbane in Round 21.
It is not the first time the Cats have been hurt by off-season high jinks. Two years ago midfielder David Spriggs required a knee reconstruction after jumping from a beach wall at Lorne. He missed all of the 2002 season.
It is understood the Johnson incident happened at the Torquay Hotel on Saturday night when a group of players got together to farewell teammate Mitchell White.
There were reports in Geelong yesterday that Johnson had been ejected from the hotel and rolled his ankle while trying to jump a back fence to return to the function.
Coach Mark Thompson confirmed last night that Johnson had fallen from a fence, but said the forward had told him he had not been thrown out.
"I can guarantee that for a fact, that's out of his own mouth," Thompson said.
"He did fall off the fence; he fell awkwardly and hurt his ankle."
Pressed further about whether Johnson had been thrown out of the hotel, Thompson said: "I'm not saying he wasn't, but that's what he told me. So I can only go from what I've been told, and that's from the horse's mouth."
Asked if the club would take any disciplinary action against Johnson, Thompson said: "He's pretty disappointed now, and he's probably learnt a big lesson.
"I think it's a very quick reminder of how you should avoid risky incidents."
Football manager Garry Davidson said yesterday the club was confident Johnson's ankle was not broken.
"But we are going through the usual process of checking it all out with X-rays and MRIs," he said.
Davidson also said he was not aware of Johnson being ejected from the hotel.
"Our understanding is he's jumped the fence to catch up with a few of his mates from Wangaratta, and he's rolled his ankle," Davidson said.
"We're not aware of him being thrown out of the pub or anything like that.
"We first learnt of the problem when Steve phoned our physio on Sunday morning and said he was in a lot of pain."
Davidson admitted the incident was disappointing, particularly as it had happened outside normal training.
"All off-field incidents are disappointing, especially this time of year when we're training very solidly, and Steve was training exceptionally well," he said.
"It's a setback for us and the player."
Davidson would not speculate on how long Johnson might be sidelined until the test results were known today.
"Nobody wants injuries at this time of year and you don't expect them to happen away from the footy club, but in this case it has," he said.
Thoughts????
GEELONG young gun Steve Johnson's pre-season is in disarray after a weekend incident at the Torquay Hotel.
Johnson, 20, fell from a fence and badly rolled his right ankle, which could mean several weeks on the sidelines.
More details of the injury will be known today when the results of X-rays and scans are known.
Johnson's injury is a body blow because the young forward emerged as a genuine talent this year.
He played 15 games in his second season and kicked 23 goals, including an eye-catching six-goal haul against Brisbane in Round 21.
It is not the first time the Cats have been hurt by off-season high jinks. Two years ago midfielder David Spriggs required a knee reconstruction after jumping from a beach wall at Lorne. He missed all of the 2002 season.
It is understood the Johnson incident happened at the Torquay Hotel on Saturday night when a group of players got together to farewell teammate Mitchell White.
There were reports in Geelong yesterday that Johnson had been ejected from the hotel and rolled his ankle while trying to jump a back fence to return to the function.
Coach Mark Thompson confirmed last night that Johnson had fallen from a fence, but said the forward had told him he had not been thrown out.
"I can guarantee that for a fact, that's out of his own mouth," Thompson said.
"He did fall off the fence; he fell awkwardly and hurt his ankle."
Pressed further about whether Johnson had been thrown out of the hotel, Thompson said: "I'm not saying he wasn't, but that's what he told me. So I can only go from what I've been told, and that's from the horse's mouth."
Asked if the club would take any disciplinary action against Johnson, Thompson said: "He's pretty disappointed now, and he's probably learnt a big lesson.
"I think it's a very quick reminder of how you should avoid risky incidents."
Football manager Garry Davidson said yesterday the club was confident Johnson's ankle was not broken.
"But we are going through the usual process of checking it all out with X-rays and MRIs," he said.
Davidson also said he was not aware of Johnson being ejected from the hotel.
"Our understanding is he's jumped the fence to catch up with a few of his mates from Wangaratta, and he's rolled his ankle," Davidson said.
"We're not aware of him being thrown out of the pub or anything like that.
"We first learnt of the problem when Steve phoned our physio on Sunday morning and said he was in a lot of pain."
Davidson admitted the incident was disappointing, particularly as it had happened outside normal training.
"All off-field incidents are disappointing, especially this time of year when we're training very solidly, and Steve was training exceptionally well," he said.
"It's a setback for us and the player."
Davidson would not speculate on how long Johnson might be sidelined until the test results were known today.
"Nobody wants injuries at this time of year and you don't expect them to happen away from the footy club, but in this case it has," he said.
Thoughts????
The fact is he could just as easily have broken a foot or toe vaccuming. Believe it or not but they are people too and are entitled to act like it.
