Gold Coast Suns player Jarrod Harbrow opens up about his secret pain ahead of his 250th AFL game
Last season Jarrod Harbrow couldn’t kick a football through the week without it hurting and only got through games on pain killers. Ahead of his 250th AFL game, the respected Sun opens up on career-saving surgery, his contract and legacy.
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LAST season Jarrod Harbrow couldn’t kick a football through the week without it hurting and could only get through game days on pain killers.
The most capped Suns player has opened up about his secret injury battle ahead of Gold Coast’s Round 6 clash with Melbourne on Saturday at Giants Stadium, his 250th AFL game.
Harbrow has been considered the evergreen halfback throughout his 10 years at the Suns, a durable and courageous small defender brimming with consistency.
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But groin issues plagued him in 2019 and forced him to get what he considers to be career-saving surgery at the end of that year.
“My groins really buggered me last year,” Harbrow said.
“I went through some crazy stuff with my groins. I wasn’t able to train throughout the week at all. It hurt to even kick.
“I’d try and get up on a main session, which was mainly on a Thursday, and I was able to do maybe a few tempos or a few strides then.
“I needed some pain killers on game day just to get through the game.
“Once that wore off on a Monday or Tuesday I’d come crashing down.
“There were days I couldn’t do anything at all. It was just game day that I got myself up for and that is the priority.”
Incredibly, the 2018 club champion, who turns 32 on July 18, still managed to get through 21 of 22 games last season and finished fourth in the club champion voting.
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CONTRACT
Harbrow is out of contract at the end of this year and while he is yet to decide if he will play on in 2021, his destiny is back in his own hands thanks to having surgery and the added time the COVID-19 AFL break gave him to get his groins right.
“We were able to get on top of that over the off-season and I think the COVID-19 period was really good for me because I had that extra break to get on top of things,” Harbrow said.
“The body is feeling really good at the moment.
“We are managing them and it’s an ever day thing. It’s about making sure through the week I’m doing the right strength work and I’m not overloading it.
“I have always liked to work really hard and train hard but now my groins certainly tell me that I can’t do too much any more.
“I have really good medical support. I wasn’t the first one who has had this issue. They have seen it work and seen a lot of players go through similar things and come out the other side fine.
“We still have the strengthening work I need to do around the pubic bone with the deeper muscles that required different exercises to really target those smaller muscles that were fairly weak.”
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With his body back in shape Harbrow’s focus has shifted towards regaining his form on-field, with the man usually among those picked in coach Stuart Dew’s side conceding his performances weren’t up to scratch despite the team’s early success.
“To be honest I just want to change my form around,” Harbrow said.
“I’m pumped that the team is doing really well, it’s great the club is having a bit of success now and hopefully we can continue but I still know I have a really important role to play.
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“This is me being a bit hard on myself but I know I’m not playing to the standard I need to play at the moment so I’m just concentrating on that and trying to turn my form around.
“Whatever happens at the end of this year (with my contract), we will worry about that a bit later.
“I haven’t made a decision (on next year). I have always felt like I have had to prove myself. “There is no getting comfortable. I know I have to work for a contract and that is everyone who comes out of contract, that is the boat we are in. It’s even more motivation to challenge myself.
“I need to fix a bit of everything with my offence and defence.”
REFLECTION
Harbrow has been one of the most selfless players Gold Coast have had throughout its history and the fact the greatest satisfaction he will get from his milestone game is linked to how it will affect others is further proof of that.
He is more excited to be involved in teammate Izak Rankine’s debut than his own milestone.
He has been a respected mentor for every player at the club, particularly the Indigenous players and those involved in his Harbrow Mentoring programs.
His milestone is just another thing the junior players who look up to him have to latch on to in the hope of making their own mark on the game.
“If I’m able to help them in any way with their career then that is so important,” Harbrow said.
“There are players we get into the football club who come from all different communities and states from around the country.
“It’s a big effort and ask for a player to be picked up and come to a place like the Gold Coast.
“If I’m able to make the footy club a culturally supportive environment for them then great.
“That keeps me motivated and keeps me going because I see that as something that has meaning and purpose. I’m not the type to fluff around with too many things. I like to do things with meaning and purpose and that is something I’m proud of.
Harbrow loves football but it serves as a vehicle for something of even greater significance.
“It’s been a big journey.
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“You go through so many different moments in your career.
“There are ups, downs, there are challenges and all different stuff that you come across. At the end of it hopefully I have been able to provide my all to the footy club, both and off the field.
“I have tried to be reliable and a team-first player, tried to be as consistent as possible and that is with my preparation and with games, with all different stuff.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the affect I have had on field that I have loved the most. What I have been able to achieve off the field around the footy club and in the community is something I’m the most proud of to be honest.”
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Harbrow is yet to win in any of his major milestones, losing against Sydney in 2012 in his 100th, falling short against St Kilda in 2015 in his 150th and dropping the QClash against Brisbane in 2017 in his 200th.
He hopes he can change that fortune when he plays former teammates-turned Demons Steven May and Harley Bennell.
The Suns offered Harbrow the opportunity to have his wife Emma and daughter Riley, who turns five next week, at the game but with the couple about to welcome a son in August they have opted to remain home and cheer on from the couch.
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Jarrod Harbrow still straps his own ankles, when he speaks he has a captive audience and he will likely have Gold Coast’s community award named after him one day.
Suns co-captain David Swallow has lauded the influence of the Gold Coast halfback ahead of his 250th AFL game, detailing the incredible impact the fellow foundation Sun has had on the club.
“He has been one of the mainstayers of the place for the entirety of the club’s history,” Swallow said.
“Obviously what he has brought on field, that consistency and reliability but then everything he has done in the community and especially with the Indigenous boys and the education he has provided for the whole club in that area. He has been massive.”
As a player Swallow said Harbrow’s skills regularly changed the outcome of games.
Swallow couldn’t fathom how many sticky situations Harbrow has got the club out of in defence thanks to his game sense, positioning, tackles and his run and dash with footy in hand.
Between quarters you won’t see him imposing himself in conversations but when he speaks, players listen.
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“When he does speak everyone’s ears prick up and they listen to what he has to say because you know it’s coming from a good place and you want to hear what he has to say and the knowledge he has. He has probably the most respect in the team in that sense,” Swallow said.
Off the field Harbrow’s influence cannot be measured.
Swallow said the decision by club bosses to recruit the former Western Bulldogs player in their initial list build was one of the best decisions ever made at the Suns.
A mentor to all who has most recently helped Gold Coast players and staff get a better understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“If you want to learn more and want to have a chat about it he is certainly keen to give his opinion and tell you what he thinks,” Swallow said.
“For myself he is someone I went and talked to going through the Black Lives Matter movement to gain some understanding. He is more than willing to give his opinion and his thoughts on the issues.”
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