Mitch Wallis reveals why he wanted to help injured rival Tom Mitchell
Western Bulldogs midfielder Mitch Wallis was so moved by the support he received during his recovery from a horrific broken leg that he felt compelled to reach out to a fellow broken leg sufferer.
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Mitch Wallis has revealed the support he received from Michael Barlow after his horrific broken leg in 2016 drove him to reach out and share his own “wisdom” with injured Hawk Tom Mitchell.
Mitchell has credited Wallis as being a major source of support during his recovery from the gruesome pre-season injury he suffered when he snapped both the tibia and fibula in his leg in January this year.
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It was the same shocking injury Bulldogs midfielder Wallis suffered in Round 18, 2016, which forced him to miss the club’s drought-breaking premiership win.
Wallis said the support of Barlow, who also suffered a double-break early in his career with Fremantle, had such an impact on him that he wanted to pay it forward.
“Through my journey of my injury there were a lot of players that reached out and offered advice,” Wallis said.
“One in particular was Michael Barlow, who went through a similar horrific incident a few years ago. He came to my house and asked if there was any advice I wanted and gave me some things to look forward to and things to look out for.
“It really impacted me and my journey. I just thought that I passed the baton on and the next person who unfortunately found themselves in that position, I would impart some wisdom and Tom was a candidate, he obviously had a bad leg (injury).
“It can be a lonely place when you've got a 12-month injury and a significant one at that … I was just there as an ear to listen to what he was going through and offer the tiniest bit of advice about how to cope with things but also to look optimistically and search for different ways to improve yourself but also manage your injury.”
Walls is the best advice he could offer Mitchell was not to rush any aspect of his recovery.
“Patience is a key,” Wallis said.
“Tom hasn't had the easiest or smoothest recovery back with some setbacks here and there, I had it as well.
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“If you've got a goal and you want to get there, just make sure you don't rush to do it … take it slow. He's got a long and prosperous career ahead of him. He doesn't need to achieve everything in the next five minutes, things take time.”
Wallis did not expect the Hawthorn star would be held back by any mental hurdles returning to collision play.
“I think he'll be fine with the type of player that he is with the collision aspect,” Wallis said.
“It's just knowing that when he gets past that pain barrier and he feels like he can release onto the footy field it's just more having the confidence to jump off that leg to go in.
“But like I said the contested side of the game that Tom thrives in, I'm sure that will click in as soon as his body is up to that capacity.”
Originally published as Mitch Wallis reveals why he wanted to help injured rival Tom Mitchell
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