HAWTHORN defender Ryan Schoenmakers recalls the moments at Aurora Stadium that ended his season as he speaks for the first time about his knee injury.
Schoenmakers ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Hawthorn’s Round 4 win over Fremantle in Tasmania and will undergo a traditional knee reconstruction next week.
The injury was sustained in the second quarter as the young defender tried to turn after landing awkwardly in a marking contest.
He describes exclusively to hawthornfc.com.au the moment he knew he had done significant damage to his knee.
“I jumped in the air and probably got a bit of a shove and as that happened, I realised the ball was going over my head so I had to turn around and chase straight away,” he recalled.
“As I landed my body weight continued through the knee and go from under me, which was not a great feeling.
“Straight away I knew something wasn’t right, that that wasn’t supposed to happen.
“There was probably 10 to 15 seconds of pain and that was when I grabbed my knee.
“Then the physios came out and when they grabbed me and picked me up and then walked me to the bench I started to put some weight on it and found it actually wasn’t too bad.
“It was a weird feeling I guess, that 10 seconds of pain and then nothing.”
Despite the devastating news, that his season was likely to be over, the 22 year old tried to remain positive in the moment immediately following.
Such is the mantra and the culture of this Hawthorn team, Schoenmakers didn’t allow the disappointing news to consume him.
Instead, he returned to the bench before half time, tried to remain positive and provide his teammates with the encouragement it needed to secure a win over a gallant and persistent Fremantle.
He admits though, sitting on the bench and watching his teammates was one of the toughest moments of his career.
“It was pretty tough,” Schoenmakers said.
“I just wanted the boys to get up and have a good win.
“I probably hadn’t realised at the time what effect it would have on me in terms of how long I’d be out. I obviously hadn’t had scans yet so I was hoping for some good results and basically just keeping my fingers crossed.
“I was trying to stay positive and not let the boys get down.”
The injury is a shattering blow for a player who had shown rapid improvement in the last 18 months, and had enjoyed an uninterrupted pre-season.
One of Hawthorn’s best in the opening three rounds, Schoenmakers leaves the game for approximately 12 months as a player on the rise, someone who still has a long career ahead of him.
He is taking solace in the fact he had been one of the Hawks’ best performers and hopes to pick up where he left off when he returns bigger and better in 2014.
“I was obviously pretty happy with my form before the injury, my first couple of rounds I was pretty happy with what I’d been able to do,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that I couldn’t continue that and take that confidence throughout the whole year but I’m sure I’ll come back and try and pick up from where I left off.”
