The Ouch In Crouch

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday August 19, 2006

Michael Cowley

Jared Crouch was in so much pain he couldn't drive. And it wasn't until then that Sydney's Mr Unbreakable finally allowed his body to rest, reports Michael Cowley.

IT'S NOT a phrase Jared Crouch would ever have expected to utter, but he'll tell you that he would rather be in Geelong this afternoon than probably anywhere else on the planet.

But while the Swans are taking on the Cats today, Crouch will be at Manuka Oval making his debut as reserves coach.

"They needed a coach because the senior coaches are all down in Geelong, and I stuck my hand up," Crouch said. "I've been in the reserves coach's box in the last few weeks, getting a feel for it and hopefully I can help the young guys out a bit.

"I am looking forward to it. The time I've played in the reserves and the time I've spent around them, I've enjoyed trying to help the guys develop.

"But I don't think I'm the next coaching guru or anything like that. I enjoy playing the game. That's what I do, that's what I do love, and that's what I've dreamt about since I was a little kid."

Crouch was all set to make a return to senior football last weekend against Melbourne, but when an injury he has had all season flared at training the Tuesday before the game, it was decided that he should play in the seconds and see how the injury fared. It didn't fare well. He was forced from the field after 10 minutes and didn't return.

Yet he hasn't given up hope of being back in the seniors as Sydney attempt to defend their title and, while not specific about the extent of the injury, said it was not as grim as some have speculated.

"All I'm going through is a condition most footballers go through. It's not career-ending, it's not life-threatening, it's just a challenge as sports people we have to face and I take it on the chin. I had an awesome run for a long, long time."

Calling his run awesome is even a little understated. Crouch made his debut on May 10, 1998. He then played 194 consecutive games - an AFL record from debut. The streak ended when he was forced out of the team's game with Fremantle on July 1.

When the decision was made to give his aching body a rest, it wasn't disappointment or anger that hit Crouch, instead it was relief. He had overcome more serious injuries but this time his body was screaming. And he just "hated football".

"We were in Roosy's [Paul Roos] office and he obviously knew some of the things I was going through, and how I was going. I guess you never want to admit defeat, you never want to admit that you couldn't play and I think Roosy, despite having me in the team for that week, gave me an opportunity to do it, and I said, 'Look, mate, I'm in a fair bit of pain, it's probably better if I have a rest'. It was a decision that we both made, that the injuries had got on top of me and I needed a break.

"I've had more serious injuries, but the fact is I had three or four at the one time and all over my body and I was at a stage where I hated football.

"I'd finish a game and about two hours later I was just in enormous pain. I couldn't even drive myself home. When you are in that much pain you don't enjoy it and when you're not enjoying it, you don't want to be here, and there was that element with me. But you combine that with the heart saying, 'You've never missed a game before, you're tougher than this, you can keep working through it'.

"But the realisation was that while the heart was still saying yes, the brain was saying no, and we had to do something positive, and have a rest. As soon as I made the decision it was like almost instantaneous leap of joy from my body, going, 'Yes, you beauty'. It was just so much relief, mentally as well as physically. To finally make the decision ... instant relief.

"Watching the game in the stands was difficult because I hadn't watched a live game of football for nine years. The following week was the Adelaide game and that was tough because the boys weren't playing as well as they should have been and you get the feeling of, 'I should be out there, I should be helping them'."

Crouch did not reveal the extent of his injuries, that it was between him and his doctor. He reasoned that those injured areas could be targeted by opponents - as has happened in the past - so he felt it not worth risking again.

Suggestions then arose that Crouch wasn't injured, and had just created the story to cover up being dropped.

"Hearing those things hasn't been tough for me, I'm very strong mentally, but you just feel for the general public," Crouch said. "Why are these people lying to the public? Why are they not only disrespecting us as players, but lying and disrespecting the whole population. It doesn't make sense."

For the past few years the streak has been with Crouch. As he approached John Murphy's record of 158 consecutive games from debut, as he reached it, passed it, and then as he built on it. He is proud of having played almost two full seasons more than any other player from debut.

"But, at the same time, it means nothing compared to the fact that I played in a premiership [team]," he said. "I remember Barry Hall got bagged last year because he didn't go for those extra goals to win the Coleman Medal, but now we've got that premiership medal and we know how special that is, and that is far greater than any individual thing I've ever achieved in football."