Richmond cheer squad member dislocates finger marking footy during AFL Grand Final
A Richmond fan’s attempt to mark a wayward ball during Saturday’s big game ended in an injury so painful he asked for the “green whistle”. But there was a reason he decided against it and watched the rest of the match in agony.
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For diehard Richmond supporter Mick Aldridge, Saturday’s AFL Grand Final was painful viewing, even as his Tigers strolled to their 12th premiership.
Early in the second quarter of the match Tigers dasher Jason Castagna kicked the ball for a point and into the crowd behind the Punt Rd goals at the MCG.
It was heading for Aldridge, who was sitting in the Richmond cheer squad five rows from the fence with his wife, Jenny, and children Charlie, 13, and Ruby, 9.
Not wanting them to be hit by the ball, Aldridge, 46, rose to mark it, only to misjudge it and end up with a badly dislocated finger on his right hand.
He was immediately in pain and went off to a medical bay.
“I asked for the “green whistle” to get rid of the pain,’’ Aldridge said.
“They said, ‘If we give you the green whistle you’ll have to go to hospital’. I said I didn’t want to do that because I didn’t want to miss the rest of the game. I wasn’t going to miss a grand final. I tried to put it back in myself and when I couldn’t do that they said they could put it in a splint. So they did, and I went back and watched the rest of the game.’’
He missed about 10 minutes of the match, returning in time to see Richmond grab control from the Giants.
Aldridge watched the Tigers celebrate on the ground after the final siren then walked through Yarra Park to the Epworth Hospital, where an X-ray revealed the extent of the damage.
The finger was put back in under local anaesthetic.
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The wounded Tiger could begin celebrations two hours later when he got home, poured himself a Jack Daniel’s whiskey and put on the replay.
But despite Richmond’s rousing win, the pain hasn’t gone away for Aldridge.
“It’s horrible,’’ he said.
“The throbbing is unbelievable. I’ve got a metal splint over the top of it at the moment to try to keep it straight.’’
He’s off to see a hand surgeon tomorrow, on a premiership high but cursing himself for trying to mark the ball rather than punch it away.
“Yeah, nine times out of 10 I’d put the fist up but for some reason I tried to mark it, maybe because it was a grand-final ball,’’ he said.
“The golden fist would have been the better option.’’