Glenelg’s Brett Turner opens up on painful premiership journey

Shockingly delisted from the AFL, Brett Turner returned to Glenelg – and even a fractured foot and ripped abdominal muscle couldn’t stop him helping the side win a SANFL premiership.

Glenelg premiership star Brett Turner has revealed he battled a fractured foot all season and a 4cm abdominal muscle tear during the finals to produce one of football’s great redemption stories.

Mercilessly cut from the AFL by Adelaide after just five months and no games on its list last year, Turner returned to the Tigers and played through duress for much of the season after hurting his left foot in Round 2 against Port Adelaide.

On Sunday, he won his first SANFL league premiership, shining in the midfield as Glenelg beat Sturt in the grand final by 24 points to claim its sixth flag.

“I have a little nick in the side of my foot, so I have been managing it all year, basically training just once a week and then playing on Saturdays,’’ Turner said as the Tigers’ black and gold colours were unveiled on top of the Hoffmann Kiln at the Brickworks Marketplace on Tuesday.

Glenelg’s Brett Turner (left) and coach Darren Reeves with the SANFL premiership cup at the West End chimney celebrations at Brickworks Marketplace on Tuesday. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“Thinking about it now I probably should have gone into a moon boot for a while because it never really got any better.

“I jabbed it on the weekend for the first time to get through the grand final and now that the season’s over I’ll see a specialist again to see what can be done.’’

Turner missed two games with the injury before returning against South Adelaide in Round 5.

He said working as a labourer for a mate’s concrete business after losing his AFL contract – he was selected by the Crows in last season’s mid-season rookie draft – didn't help with his recovery.

“That type of work isn’t great for your feet or body when you combine it with SANFL training,’’ Turner said.

The explosive onballer, 26, suffered a second injury setback at training last month when he pushed off a teammate in a tackle and felt a sharp pain through his abdominal muscles.

Days later, Turner played against Woodville-West Torrens in Round 17 but he felt the muscles pull while tackling Eagle Adam D’Aloia.

“The tackle opened the muscle up, with scans showing a 4cm tear,’’ he said.

Glenelg’s 2023 SANFL premiership team celebrates the black and gold colours being unveiled at the top of the Hoffmann Kiln at Brickworks Marketplace. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

The injury forced him to miss the Round 18 clash against the Panthers and Turner said he would have been “touch and go’’ for Glenelg’s first final if the minor premier hadn’t had the week’s break.

Turner was one of the Tigers’ best players in the grand final and said winning the flag was

his only goal for this season after the bitter disappointment of his AFL delisting.

“It was interesting at the end of last year, I wasn’t really sure what my plans were,’’ he said.

“But after leaving Glenelg halfway through the year I felt I needed to come back and help them win a flag, so it’s a great feeling now.’’

Turner, who played in the Bays’ 2021 grand final loss to the Eagles, paid tribute to first-year Tigers coach Darren Reeves, describing him as the best coach he had played for.

He revealed Reeves had written touching, personal letters to each grand final player and handed them out at a team meeting on Friday night - two days before the big dance.

“We all got personal letters about the journey we’d been on through the year and I read mine on the day of the game while I was at the beach,’’ Turner said.

“That’s him as a coach and I told him on Sunday night that I’d never worked for a coach like him, the way he thinks and the relationships he builds with people.’’