Glenelg great Max Proud reveals full extent of ‘devastating’ footy injuries that cost him a SANFL grand final spot and ended his career

Glenelg great Max Proud has opened up on the full extent of the injuries that cost him a SANFL grand final spot and prematurely ended his career.

Glenelg Football Club great Max Proud has described the brutal hit that ended his career as the worst he has copped in his 14 years of league football.

“I saved the best and biggest one until last,’’ he said, just hours after being released from Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he spent nearly six days in the trauma unit recovering from a punctured lung and three broken ribs.

“I’ve copped quite a few big hits during my career but this one was massive and I knew straight away that I was in trouble.

“I was so badly winded and then I couldn’t get my breath back. When I was trying to breathe I felt something moving inside my chest, through the ribs area as if air was escaping from my lungs.

“I could hardly speak and I’m sure the trainers could see the fear in my eyes, that I knew it was something serious.’’

Glenelg’s Max Proud (right) with fellow SANFL Premiership Cup ambassador, former Sturt star Zane Kirkwood, at Adelaide Oval on Friday. Brenton Edwards

Proud - the 33-year-old Tigers triple premiership defender - was floored during the final quarter of last Sunday’s SANFL preliminary final win against Norwood when, in typically brave fashion, he ran back with the flight of the ball and was crunched on the right side of his body in a marking contest by powerful Redlegs key forward Jackson Callow.

After being helped from Adelaide Oval in severe pain and duress, Proud was rushed by ambulance to the RAH, where he was hooked up to an oxygen machine and had “about 10-to-15 doctors swarm around me’’ to determine the extent of the damage.

“It was pretty full-on there for a while,’’ a still-very-sore Proud said.

“They had to put a tube into my chest cavity to drain out the air that had escaped and clear out some blood.

“I was hooked up to that machine for a few days to allow the lung to re-inflate itself.

“I also had a big lump appear on the side of my chest where the air had escaped, they call it a ‘bubble-wrap’, and the doctors were quite concerned about that because my understanding is that if the air goes back up towards the airways it can become quite serious.

“So it’s been a pretty intense week, spending so much time in hospital, and a lot of thoughts went through my mind.

“Fortunately I had a lot of amazing support, lots of messages and visits from not only Glenelg people and friends but also from other SANFL clubs.’’

Max Proud with his wife, Alice, at Adelaide Oval after he was released from hospital. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The “devastating’’ injury denied Proud the chance of a fairytale finish to his glittering 210-game SANFL career after he had already decided to retire after the grand final.

He and his wife, Alice, are relocating to Sydney for work and lifestyle reasons.

“It’s devastating not to be able to play on Sunday,’’ said Proud, who would have been playing in his fifth grand final as the underdog Bays chase a historic flag three-peat against Sturt.

“This was always going to be my last year but it’s shattering, devastating, to not be able to play in the grand final with the boys.

“I’ve gone through a wave of emotions this week and I’m still coming to terms with it all, not only missing out on a grand final but also knowing that I’ve played my last game for Glenelg.’’

But, barring a health setback, Proud will be at Adelaide Oval supporting his teammates on grand final day.

He and dual Sturt premiership captain and two-time Magarey Medallist Zane Kirkwood - a member of the Double Blues’ last flag side in 2017 - have been named as this year’s SANFL League Grand Final Cup Ambassadors.

They will accompany the Thomas Seymour Hill premiership trophy on to Adelaide Oval before the bounce of Sunday’s highly-anticipated title-decider.

Should a Glenelg player win the Jack Oatey Medal as best afield, Tigers legend Peter Carey will present the medal.

If a Blues player is victorious, the medal will be presented by Sturt’s 2016 Jack Oatey Medallist Jack Stephens.

Max Proud in action for Glenelg against the Crows in round 13. Picture: David Mariuz/SANFL

Proud is planning to help his club “anyway I can’’ and hopes to be in the Tiger change rooms before the game and on their interchange bench during it.

“I just want to try to play some role for the club in the grand final, even if it’s only small,’’ he said.

“Obviously I’m still recovering from the injuries - that will take a while - so I need to be careful not to overdo things but if I can say a few words and offer some support down on the bench, maybe provide some inspiration, it might help.’’

The super-courageous Proud, who overcame a series of serious injuries during his career to reach the 200-game milestone this year, is one of only seven triple Glenelg premiership players, having won flags in 2019, 2023 and 2024.

He said while his latest injury had ripped his heart out, denying him a crack at a fourth premiership, he saw a small silver lining in it.

“Right now, with things still being so raw, it’s a bitter pill to swallow,’’ Proud said.

“But when I get a chance to look back on things, maybe in some ways it is fitting that my last act was going back with the flight of the ball, which will sit okay with me.’’