Sturt’s John Hinge snaps Achilles tendon and ruled out for 12 months

THE career of Sturt utility John Hinge is in jeopardy after he seriously damaged his Achilles on Saturday.

SANFL football - South Adelaide vs Sturt match at Noarlunga Oval. John Hinge under pressure from Shaun McKernan.

THE career of Sturt utility John Hinge is in jeopardy after he seriously damaged his Achilles on Saturday.

Hinge, 28, snapped his Achilles tendon late in the reserves qualifying final win over North Adelaide at Woodville Oval and will be sidelined for 12 months.

That rules him out for most of the 2015 season and after 151 league games he may opt for retirement.

Hinge was unlucky to miss selection for the league qualifying final contest against Norwood at Adelaide Oval on Saturday and his form in the reserves was outstanding before being hit by the nasty injury.

“John has had such a positive attitude and always adopted a great attitude when he was in the reserves,’’ Double Blues football manager Paul Sandercock said. “He said he heard the Achilles snap and it will be 12 months out of football.’’

The Double Blues emerged from the nine-point loss to the Redlegs unscathed and could take an unchanged side into the first semi-final battle against South Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The only injury concern for the Panthers is captain Josh Thewlis, who left the 20-point elimination final victory over Woodville-West Torrens in the final quarter due to cramping.

The loser drops out of the race for the flag while the winner earns a preliminary final clash against the loser of the second semi-final between Port Adelaide and the Redlegs.

Sandercock admitted the loss was frustrating given the statistics were heavily in favour of the Double Blues, only to waste scoring opportunities. The Double Blues had 20 more visits inside their attacking 50 than the Redlegs but the reigning premiers’ superior efficiency proved decisive.

The Redlegs also reported no injury concerns from the encounter but they will be unable to consider young midfielder Peter Bampton for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury.

Bampton, hopeful of being drafted into the AFL in November, is to have the shoulder reconstructed. The setback follows a significant ankle injury in round seven, forcing him out of action for eight weeks.

The second semi-final is almost certain to the first game in the double header although match times have yet to be confirmed.

The make up of the Port Adelaide line up is confused by the club’s AFL commitments. With the Power meeting Richmond in an elimination final at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, Port Adelaide is expected to hold several players out of the state league match to be on standby for the AFL.

Redlegs coach Ben Warren admitted his side needed to improve significantly on its performance on Saturday if it was to beat Port Adelaide and be the first team into the grand final.