‘I’m good to go’ — Grundell
DALTON Grundell can thank his lucky stars that Inverleigh bypassed the preliminary final.
If the Hawks had been forced to reach the grand final the hard way, Grundell admits he would be limping into today’s clash against Thomson.
“I’m pretty happy we had the week off,” said Grundell, who has battled a foot injury sustained in the second semifinal win over Bell Post Hill.
“I’ve had the whole week to recover now and I’m good to go.”
Straining his ligaments, Grundell — who remains one of the Hawks’ most important players — was no certainty earlier this week to overcome the injury in time to tackle the Tigers.
He sought medical advice and was booked in to receive a cortisone injection in a bid to play, but that was canned as he shrugged off concerns and trained strongly on Thursday.
“It’s got a lot better in the last few days,” Grundell said.
“I couldn’t get in (for an injection) on Monday or Tuesday, nothing was open and noone was free, so I just thought I would try and get through it.
“I’ve just been taking antiinflammatories and I had an appointment on Wednesday but I cancelled it because I’m feeling all right.”
Going down in the second quarter against the Panthers, Grundell revealed he ran out the game under significant duress.
“I got it strapped and tried to play on,” Grundell said.
“It was a bit sore at the time but it’s all good now.
“I’ve been going through it nice and slowly, taking my time, and I trained fully on Tuesday and Thursday. I went as hard as I could just to prove to ‘Macca’ (coach Mark McDowell) that I was fit to play and he was happy with it.”
The week’s rest has also been beneficial for Grundell’s teammates, who were able to overcome niggling injuries.
It’s a complete contrast to last season, when the Hawks limped into the grand final and were soundly beaten by Bell Post Hill, having carried a handful or sore players into the match.
“We went in pretty sore,” Grundell said.
“Three of four blokes were pretty injured, but this year we’ve had the week off and it’s been a huge bonus for us. I know I’m feeling a lot better than I was last year and a lot of the other boys are as well.”