Luke Jericho says running into Dean Brogan was like being hit by a truck in Showdown 24
Luke Jericho still hasn’t bumped into Dean Brogan 11 years after the Power ruckman left him with a broken sternum in the infamous Showdown 24, writes Reece Homfray.
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Luke Jericho still remembers the final few seconds before colliding with Dean Brogan which left him with a broken sternum in the infamous Showdown 24 at AAMI Stadium in 2008.
“It was like running into a truck,” he recalled this week.
“I don’t remember too much of the game but I remember Jason Porplyzia giving me a handball over my head and I kept my eyes on the ball, but by the time I looked down I was pretty much wide open and it was too late to cover up and protect myself.”
The force of Brogan’s hit cracked Jericho’s sternum and he made his way to the bench.
“My back, my shoulder and my chest was pretty sore, and I ended up going back on but I tried to tackle Shaun Burgoyne later in the game and I couldn’t even lift my arm so I was pretty useless doing not much,” he said.
“It was a twilight game and when I got cleaned up it was still daylight then the rest happened at night, and I remember having really bad pains in the middle of my shoulder blades in my back.
“I said ‘I think I can go back on’ but I actually remember asking the doctor if I could have a jab or something to numb the pain, but they said ‘na, if you’re going back on you have to go back on as is’.”
Scans the next day revealed the damage and Jericho missed seven weeks of footy and eventually returned via the SANFL.
“I do remember after the game having a couple of the trainers helping me get my guernsey off because we had pretty tight fitting jumpers and I couldn’t lift my arm above my shoulder,” he said.
There was total carnage for the Crows that day with Port Adelaide’s Matt Thomas being reported for his tackle on Nathan Bassett which left the Adelaide defender with concussion.
Jon Griffin copped a heavy knock, Jason Porplyzia hurt his shoulder, Kris Massie his hamstring and even head trainer Vince Del Bono was caught in the crossfire and was knocked to the ground.
Despite the mounting casualty ward, the Crows won by six points and levelled the Showdown ledger 12-12, with Bernie Vince winning the Showdown Medal in front of 45,524 people.
“It was a crazy game, we were under the pump there for a while and I remember (Neil Craig) Craigy saying after the game that it was one of the best wins from the footy club’s perspective in his time there,” Jericho said.
Jericho played in four Showdowns in his 33-game career with the Crows but the most memorable was in 2004 when they snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Power.
“I remember kicking a goal right at the very end and there’s a photo I’ve seen of me, Ken McGregor and Scott Welsh all hugging in the goalsquare and that was the more memorable one,” he said.
“Port had had the wood on us for quite a few years and it was a couple of years after the incident (at the Ramsgate).”
Brogan says he never intended to hurt Jericho and didn’t get off scott free himself.
“I remember the game being one of the hardest, most physical and enjoyable Showdowns I ever played in, it was a packed house and I really thrived on that,” he told Adelaide’s website.
“I didn’t actually mean to do what I did, it just sort of happened and it hurt me a lot.
“I remember lying on the ground thinking ‘I’ve got to get up here, otherwise I can’t show any weakness’.
Richard Douglas was playing just his 19th AFL game that day and saw the Brogan/Jericho collision from close range.
“It was a massive hit, obviously Broges is a big man and Jezza got a bit of a hospital ball and Broges didn’t hold back, ran through him and cleaned up him,” Douglas said.
“We only had 18 fit blokes at the time and as young blokes we knew we had to stand up and it was our time to shine and do our bit for the team to get the win.
“There is nothing better for Crows supporter to win a Showdown and for Bunji to have the ball in his hands and turn to the crowd it was a special moment, we certainly enjoyed the win.”
Jericho now lives in Sydney where he works for the Commonwealth Bank and hasn’t ran into Brogan since that day in 2008.
“When I first moved to Sydney in about 2013 he was still with GWS at the time and I always remember thinking ‘I wonder if I will ever bump into him around Sydney’ but that didn’t happen,” he said.
He played a year in the NEAFL when he moved to Sydney but his career ended in the Asian Championships while living in Hong Kong in 2014.
“We were playing in Manilla and about 20 minutes into the first game I went to tackle someone and did my knee, and that was when I pretty much hung the boots up.”
“I was umming and ahhing about playing in the NEAFL that year but that knee was the final nail in the coffin.”
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