Adelaide’s up and coming defender Tom Doedee details his recovery from a ruptured ACL
It’s hard not to notice the smile on Tom Doedee’s face at West Lakes at the moment, as he returns to Adelaide Crows training after a long layoff with a knee reconstruction.
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There are plenty of smiles at West Lakes at the moment as Adelaide Crows players return for pre-season, determined to put two poor seasons behind them.
But arguably none of the grins at Crows HQ can match that of young defender Tom Doedee, who is thrilled to have his teammates back on the track.
“I’ve been saying to everyone it is nice to have some friends around because once the AFL boys were done (for the 2019 season) I was on a different schedule to the SANFL boys who were in the finals, and then in the off-season it was just me and the physio,” he said.
“I also came back a couple of weeks ago and just did work with the physio, so it is nice to have some new faces around.
“As much as I love ‘Dunc’ (physio Duncan Kellaway) it’s good to see people back… just hearing the different voices, hearing Tex making some jokes, Sloaney getting around everyone and the younger boys stepping up.”
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It is nearly eight months since the 22-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the first round 2019 against Hawthorn - ending his season before it truly began.
What should have been a year that built on his stunning debut in 2018, in which Doedee emerged as an instant replacement for Jake Lever, finished runner-up in the Rising Star Award and was ranked 10th for intercept marks in the competition, was now one dealing with every AFL footballer’s nightmare.
However, a horrific car accident that resulted in his older brother Harley losing both feet when Doedee was just 11-years-old has given the key defender a lot of perspective on life, saying he’s “been pretty lucky”.
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But the frustration of being ruled out for a year and watching others get to do what he loves did challenge the normally positive Doedee.
“I would say early on when I was sitting at home and wasn’t at the club that much, when I was barely walking and I was sitting on my bum watching the games, it was tough to process it,” he said.
“But once I started doing that coaching in the SANFL (with the Crows’ side) I felt like I was a part of the boys’ journey.
“To have the success that we did brought a bit of joy and made training a bit easier.
“I’ve put on some upper body size which is nice, (but) on the mental side I feel like I’m able to put a bit of perspective on things like this… it’s made me even more hungrier to succeed.”
Amazingly, Doedee might have also become more popular with Crows fans during his stint on the sidelines, emerging as an intriguing presence on social media for his views about the movies and TV shows he watches, or his love for American sports.
While more and more players switch off from social media because of the vitriol it can garnish, analysis shows that Doedee is in fact the most active AFL player on Twitter.
“I didn’t know whether I liked it at first but then I thought ‘what else am I supposed to do when I’m stuck on the couch’,” he said.
“Because I had a relatively good year (in 2018) and felt the fans were getting around me I’ve been able to get positive comments… it can be a really toxic place but I’ve seemed to have positive experiences with it, so that’s why I keep going with it.”
But Doedee’s focus is now on fully recovering from his injury.
He can run and kick the footy at 100 per cent - looking good in the Crows’ pre-season sessions so far - but is still weeks off full contact drills.
On top of the knee recovery, he also had a small plate removed from his collarbone - from the injury against North Melbourne that ended his 2018 season - during the off-season, but that has fully healed.
But given the position he plays, and the amount of jumping and tackling required, the Crows will be protective of Doedee’s return to action even if he is aiming for round one against Sydney, saying he isn’t having any concerns over his body.
“I just don’t have that thought to be honest, I haven’t done anything really in the mental space to eradicate the thought ‘am I going to do my knee again’ when I’m out there; it just goes away,” he said.
“And I think that is partly due to just how much you miss the game; I’ve been away for nearly seven months, so I’m using that time to enjoy being out there.
“I haven’t had that thought yet and the way I’m going I don’t feel like I will do because I’m enjoying being (back) out there so much.”
Originally published as Adelaide’s up and coming defender Tom Doedee details his recovery from a ruptured ACL