Hovey plays through pain
TORQUAY star Josh Hovey played in Saturday’s BFL grand final win with a 10cm tear in his quad.
The utility was under an injury cloud going into the season decider, but played down the seriousness of it in a bid to be given the green light to run out on Mortimer Oval on Saturday.
And it was not until after the final siren when he had a premiership medal around his neck that he revealed the true extent of the injury.
“I had about a 10cm tear in my rectus femoris, which is the kicking muscle,” Hovey said. “I tried to tell the coach (Dom Gleeson) that it was better than what it was because you want to play.
“I pushed through a little bit of pain, but at the end of the day I was playing in the ruck, so I could get away without kicking.”
The premiership win capped a roller-coaster month for the Tiger, who had a delayed start to his finals this year his luck turned.
“I was always going to come back to my home club, but it was just a matter of when,” he said.
“To do it like this and win a premiership in the first year back is something I’ll never forget.
“I’ve played in a couple of finals and haven’t won many so to finish off like we did today, I walk off like a happy man. Today is most definitely a highlight of my season.”
LUKE McCULLOUGH campaign after accepting a one-week ban for rough conduct in the Round 18 clash with Barwon Heads.
After serving his suspension he then picked up the quad injury. “I did it kicking. It was just lane work, 20m kicks,” Hovey said.
“As soon as it happened I knew it was relatively serious. I was pretty disappointed, but I did hold out hope I would get up for it.
“I worked my a--- off over the last few weeks to get it right. I was doing all the hard work, getting in the pool at 9pm and doing that sort of stuff.”
Hovey said he felt the pressure to perform given he made the call to declare himself fit.
“The coaches put their faith in me and I felt like they could pick someone at 100 per cent, so I had a point to prove that I could still give something to the team,” Hovey said.
“It’s a good feeling. To play like we did today makes it all worth it.”