Couple of pops and Grace’s career is done
JAMIE Grace has confirmed he will hang up the boots after suffering another seasonending knee injury.
Hurt in the final minute of Anakie’s reserves clash against Werribee Centrals, Grace faces surgery to repair the knee he seriously injured last season.
“I haven’t got the news yet, but more than likely I will need surgery,” he said.
“I was chasing a player and I changed direction and I heard a couple of pops, collapsed and felt the pain.”
Grace, 28, tore his ACL in Round 10 against Bannockburn last June, but avoided more damage to his knee and didn’t need surgery.
“He (doctor) told me that the rest of my knee was structurally OK, aside from the ACL,” he said.
“He told me that not everyone who injures their ACL needs surgery. He said, ‘go and do a pre-season and if you’re confident have a crack, if not, come back and see me and we’ll get it fixed’.
“I felt good during the preseason, I played the practice matches and the first few games without any issues.
“I had a little issue last week against North Geelong, I just felt a pinch, and I was almost going to take a week off, but I decided to play. In hindsight, I should have taken the week off.”
In the incident last season, Grace said his knee buckled after his boot studs gripped in the turf.
And he knew the moment his knee twisted in the final quarter against the Centurions his career was done.
“It’s disappointing, but that’s footy,” he said.
“You take the good with the bad. I was tossing up whether I wanted to keep going or whether I’d walk away, and I’ve got a young family now.
“So I was thinking about retirement anyway, so it makes my decision a bit easier. I’m done now.
“It’s funny, football used to be the be-all and end-all and you’d chop off your leg to keep playing. Things change when you get a bit older.”
Grace has played almost 200 games for the Roos and North Shore.