McGovern’s misery is Otten’s joy

AFTER the phone call that made all the tough times worth it for Andy Otten came the text message and two words his mates had been praying for — “I’m in.”

With Mitch McGovern’s hamstring to determine if the former junior star from Donvale in Melbourne’s east would play for Adelaide in today’s Grand Final, it was a strange waiting game.

“We were watching the live feeds of training, you don’t want to rejoice in the fact McGovern didn’t come up, but we saw a smile on his face and we thought, well, Andy’s not playing,” Otten’s best mate Pat Tomkins said.

“We were in all sorts. [But then] he sent a text in a group message and just said, ‘I’m in’.”

Otten has become more accustomed to the lows of football than the highs. In his 10th year of AFL, the Whitefriars College old boy today will play just his 98th game.

He’s had two knee reconstructions (left and right) and had missed three complete AFL seasons (2010, 2015 and 2016). Before Round 1 this year it was calculated he hadn’t played senior football in 960 days.

No one would begrudge the break he’s got today.

“Pykey gave me a buzz [ on Wednesday] and said ‘Congratulations mate, you’ve earned it’ — that really resonated with me,” Otten, 28, said from his Grand Final parade car yesterday.

“I’ve earned this spot to be able to play and I’m going to take this chance with both hands.

“It was super exciting and relieving to get that phone call, because you’re never quite sure until the phone rings.

“You dream of this through all the rehab you do, the one-on-one sessions — this is the end goal and to be here is so good. But now that we’re here, we’ve got to perform.”