Experienced Crow bowled over by Darcy Fogarty at training but the Fog came off second best
At 193cm and 94kg, the chances of Darcy Fogarty coming off second best against anyone are slim. But that’s what happened at Crows training last Friday and now we know who was in the firing line as The Fog hurt his shoulder.
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Crows players cheered when one of their experienced defenders was bowled over by Darcy Fogarty at training last week but the tone quickly changed when they realised the young bull had injured his shoulder.
Fogarty missed Sunday’s clash with Brisbane with a left shoulder injury that club medicos described as a “high grade contusion”, and he was replaced by Elliott Himmelberg who had five disposals and did not score in the loss to the Lions.
Midfielder Chayce Jones told the media on Monday that he had his back to the training incident and didn’t see it, but The Lowdown podcast has uncovered how it happened.
“I don’t know how you got your hands on that, I was going to try to avoid that, but he was running towards me and I just stood in the way and he clean bowled me,” defender/midfielder Brodie Smith said.
“The boys were standing on the sideline and all gave a cheer for me getting smashed to the ground which was a bit embarrassing, but then I looked over and Fog was holding his shoulder and walking off.
“So it’s a bit disappointing, there wasn’t much in it, and I think it’s just a bit of bruising and hopefully that comes good this week and he can play.
“It wasn’t a massive hit or anything, my pointy shoulders must have just got him on the right spot ... the Crows faithful can turn on me now for Fog missing a week.”
Fogarty had his arm in a sling on the Gold Coast on the weekend but the Crows are hopeful he will only miss a week and may be available to play Fremantle on Sunday.
There are also injury concerns around Rory Sloane (ankle) and Will Hamill (concussion) but Jones said both were recovering well and should be fit to play in Round 5.
CONCERNS OVER MELBOURNE GAMES
Power midfielder Tom Rockliff and Crows defender Brodie Smith admit they feel uneasy about travelling to virus-hit Melbourne to play next month and hope the competition can continue in hubs including in South Australia.
Their Round 7 games against North Melbourne and St Kilda at Docklands on July 18 and 19 were thrown into question on Monday with the Queensland government – where they are currently based on the Gold Coast – refusing to allow them to return without serving a two-week quarantine, and SA reconsidering its plans to open the Victorian border on July 20.
But Smith and Rockliff hope that with regular testing – players are tested twice a week – and strict isolation rules around their interaction with the community, governments will grant AFL teams an exemption to avoid having to shut down for two weeks.
“Obviously it (going to Melbourne) would be a little bit concerning if they can’t get on top of cases and they continue to rise, in the short talks I had with (partner) Sharna about it she says ‘well, you’re not leaving the hotel, you’re not doing anything’ – not that we will be at a hotel, I think we’d fly in the day of the game anyway,” Rockliff told The Lowdown Podcast.
“There’s no doubt there’s an element of risk if we do fly in because you’re still going to have to go to the airport in some degree.
“And I think the AFL scheduled that assuming the borders would be open on July 20 to Victoria through SA but I’m not sure that will be the case now.”
With the Crows set to play in Melbourne at night, Smith said they would have to stay in a hotel.
“I completely agree with everything Rocky said, if we do go, we’re playing at night so I don’t think we can get back so we would have to stay at a hotel and I believe it would be a full lockdown, I don’t know if we’d be allowed out of our rooms or out of the hotel at all,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how it’s managed but if they’re getting 75 cases overnight now what’s that going to look like in two weeks’ time? Are they going to be able to control it?
“A lot can happen from now until that Kangaroos game in Melbourne so we have a bit more to worry about in the near future.”
Rockliff said Port Adelaide – which is 4-0 and on top of the ladder – was happy playing in a hub but he was beginning to miss his family.
“You’ve got to embrace it as best you can and it’s different for us because we’re winning games and having a good time but there’s no doubt I’m missing my family back home, I think three, a maximum four-week period in a hub would work, any longer would be a struggle.
“Talking to the West Coast players after the game they’re probably at that limit now and they’ve still got another 2-3 weeks but if you embrace it and we have, we’re here for 16 days total so just over the halfway mark and enjoying it at the moment.
“If the worst case scenario is that we have to restart another hub somewhere – in Queensland, WA and SA or potentially NSW as well – hopefully the AFL can work with the government and come up with a solution.
“We are getting tested twice a week and we’re pretty much isolated from the rest of the community.”
Smith said hub life was made more difficult by the Crows’ current form slump but he hopes they can turn it around.
“It depends on how you’re going, I’m sure the Port boys are enjoying the hub a lot more than we are, we’re having a lot of meetings trying to figure out how to get better and what’s going on at the moment,” he said.
“The Port boys are out by the pool having a great time and we’re scratching our heads to put four quarters of consistent footy together.
“I know the guys are certainly starting to miss their families as well, this is day nine and it feels like we’ve been here for a month.
“But it’s great weather, we go to training and enjoy some time together around the hotel but there’s no place like home.”
The Crows had a player lunch at Southport Sharks on Monday where Smith said they “talked about anything but footy” as they try to clear their heads and stick together after a winless start to the season.
reece.homfray@news.com.au
Originally published as Experienced Crow bowled over by Darcy Fogarty at training but the Fog came off second best