Undaunted Augerinos keeps AFL dream alive

FORMER Geelong Falcon Max Augerinos has declared he won’t give up on his AFL dream, despite undergoing season-ending knee surgery.

Augerinos, 20, has set his sights on a return to Werribee’s VFL team for Round 1 next year as he recovers from a second reconstruction on his right knee.

The St Mary’s product went down in the clash against Footscray a fortnight ago and had surgery on Monday at Melbourne’s Epworth Hospital.

“I got the ball and as I planted my foot it buckled underneath me,” Augerinos said yesterday.

“The physio did the tests and thought it was fine, so I got a bit of a shock when I saw the doctor on the Monday.”

Augerinos completely tore his ACL and his meniscus and also strained his medial ligament in the knee he injured while playing for the Falcons against Dandenong Stingrays three seasons ago.

“It’s a little bit worse but it shouldn’t make a different to overall rehab, you still have to have a full reco,” Augerinos said.

“It’s a matter of when you get rehab done, but I could be back Round 1 next year if every goes to plan.”

Augerinos had hit good form in the lead-up to the Dogs’ clash and admitted he considered his football future when he went down at Whitten Oval.

“When I found out I was super flat and I couldn’t see myself going through rehab for 9-12 months, but when people rallied behind me it motivated me to get back again,” Augerinos said.

“I’ve been through it all before and I know what’s ahead of me. The surgeon said the recovery is quicker for the second one.”