St Mary’s star Harry Benson reveals retirement plans before returning to win second Mathieson Medal

A one-match suspension early in the season ruled him out of contention for the Mathieson Medal, but Colac star Darcy Lang is all-in on a premiership instead.

Darcy Lang says he has already put the disappointment of the Mathieson Medal behind him, declaring he is determined to claim the most elusive medal of them all – a premiership.

The Colac co-coach will lead his side out against Leopold in Sunday’s semi final in a desperate attempt to avoid a straight-sets exit after finishing the season second on the ladder.

Lang said it was a “weird feeling” to finish the count on the most votes with 26.

“I knew I was ineligible going into the night, so I wasn’t too concerned with how the count went,” he said.

GFL: St Mary's v Colac

“It means I had a decent season, so it was a weird feeling to get the most votes, but that’s not the reason why I play football.

“We want to win premierships, and the team is in a good position to really have a crack this year.”

Colac’s table at the count echoed collective groans when Lang polled votes and cheers when his nearest rivals edged closer, showcasing the team did not want their co-coach to finish on top and not receive the medal.

Lang said the side’s attention was solely on improving on the loss against Newtown & Chilwell.

“We’re a very driven group, and how we played last week is not what we stand for as a footy club,” he said.

Football GFL: Newtown & Chilwell v ColacColac 25 Darcy LangPicture: Mark Wilson

“The sides at the top this year are really competitive, and Newtown is one of them with a lot of great players

“We were beaten in the contest, when they had the footy they used it well, and when we had it the pressure was really good.

“Leopold is another side that’s really good this year, it’s going to be an interesting battle in the midfield in terms of who’s going to win it in middle and how good the use is going inside 50.”

Lang said the battle between rucks Henry Walsh and Trent West could play a major factor in the result.

“They’ve played each other already, obviously West is a really credentialed player,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough battle for Henry, he’ll have to follow up around the ground and be really physical.”

Colac is likely to make at least one forced change from the loss to the Eagles, with Dustin Walters unlikely to be passed fit to play.

“Dustin is still waiting to hear back about his ankle but at this stage of the week he’s unlikely,” he said.

“Lachie (Simpkin) moving forward was a move we had to make, but he’s had a consistent year down back and he should be right to go from that sore back and hamstring he had.”

Benson’s shock retirement plans before Mathieson upset

He has been the best player gracing GFL football ovals in the past two seasons, but St Mary’s star Harry Benson was no guarantee to make his way back.

The back-to-back Mathieson Medalist revealed he contemplated retirement after a devastating facial injury against Newtown & Chilwell in round 11.

Harry Benson Mathieson Medal

Benson did return to the football field in round 18, polling three votes in the rescheduled round 19 game against St Joseph’s to jump Leopold captain Marcus Thompson and North Shore co-coach Nick Dixon.

“I did think about hanging them up in the first few days after the surgery,” he said.

“There comes a point during that recovery stage, for most people with significant injuries, where you toss up whether playing again is worth it and if retirement is on the cards.

St Mary's 9 Harry Benson kicks a goal Picture: Mark Wilson

“Once I got back around the group and saw the boys running around I got that itch again and knew I had to come back.”

Benson averaged 29.8 disposals, 8.4 tackles, 5.3 inside 50s and half a goal a game for the season, excluding the injury-affected game where he suffered the broken jaw just seconds into the contest.

After winning the 2021 medal, Benson revealed he had committed to a chicken, rice and broccoli diet for the two years leading up to the dominant year of football, but the jaw injury meant his diet and lifestyle changed.

“I definitely lost some weight, I couldn’t eat for about three days after I broke (my jaw),” he said.

Football GFL: St Mary's v St Joseph’s. St Mary's 9 Harry Benson kicks a goal Picture: Mark Wilson

“I’m pretty smart about my dieting, I’ve done a lot of research of the past couple of years considering I do a lot of work in the gym so I know what I need to do to get around with calorie intake.

“Against the surgeon’s orders, I didn’t tell him this but I went back to the gym after two weeks, I got back in there slowly but getting my body moving again.

“I couldn’t go heavy weight because one thing you can’t do with a broken jaw is you can’t clench your face, that’s obviously not good for it, you’ve got to let the plates heal.”

Football GFL: South Barwon v St Mary's St Mary's 9 Harry Benson is chased by South Barwon 18 Jackson Carmody Picture: Mark Wilson

Benson now has two Mathieson Medals and one premiership from 2019, but he has a chance to square the ledger this season with St Mary’s set to face Newtown & Chilwell for a place in the grand final.

He said the group was feeling confident ahead of the Saints’ first finals game since their premiership win.

“Once you get a taste of one like we did in 2019, it’s a common cliche but you just want to be in that position again,” he said.

“We’ve got a hungry group … we have at least 12 or 13 blokes from that premiership side so we kind of know what we need to do to get there, and it’s just about driving the young boys to keep pushing through this.

“It gets pretty hard through the dark days of July where it’s cold and wet, but when you get out to finals, and the sun’s suddenly out on a Saturday arvo like it did on the weekend, everything comes really quickly to you.”

Originally published as St Mary’s star Harry Benson reveals retirement plans before returning to win second Mathieson Medal