Eaglehawk: Jarryn Geary injury free and playing in Bendigo homecoming

Former St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary has returned to his home club Eaglehawk as they fight for premiership honours in the Bendigo league this season.

Jarryn Geary played more than 200 matches at AFL level for St Kilda and captained the club including a finals win in 2020.

The last part of his career at the top level was ravaged by injuries, but he is back playing for his original club Eaglehawk, which is one of the teams involved in a hotly contested battle for the premiership in the Bendigo league this season.

Geary shares some insights into the highs and lows of his career, which he hopes can end with a flag.

TWT: Was coming back to Eaglehawk always part of the plan?

JG: “I’ve always kept an eye on Eaglehawk. Mum and Dad are still only 1500m from the ground. I always wanted to be part of it again, but to some degree I didn’t really know what I was going to do when I finished (at St Kilda). There were days that I thought I would stay involved in AFL footy and there were times when I didn’t. Once I made the decision to go down a different path, the chance to go back to Eaglehawk was there.”

TWT: How does the Eaglehawk footy club compare today to when you were a junior at the club?

JG: “There are still a lot of the same people around. But country footy has changed a lot and you can see what Covid has done. You can see the impact it has had on them. But I think we are starting to get more people coming along compared to the previous couple of years when they had other priorities rather than spending their Saturday afternoons coming to the footy. When I was growing up it was a big part of my life and I would spend every spare minute I had down at the footy club. Growing up, AFL footballers weren’t my role models and people I loved to go and watch. It was my local footy club because we didn’t have Foxtel, social media and not every game was on television.”

Jarryn Geary, middle, has returned to play for Eaglehawk in the Bendigo league this season. Picture: SAA Imaging

TWT: Eaglehawk started the season 5-0, but has dropped some close ones of late. Is that an indication of the league tightening up?

JG: “We started the year very positively and then had a couple of hiccups in games people expected us to win. It’s brilliant for the league because there are now six, seven, eight teams who are vying for finals position and that hasn’t always been the case.”

TWT: Your horror run with injuries has been well documented. What did you need to do to get the body right so you could play again after missing all of 2022?

JG: “I had 28 surgeries in total and because I had to pull the pin with my shoulder I just had to make sure I was able to get it right. There was some everyday pain and some nights I couldn’t sleep. I had to put a lot of effort into that so firstly I could hang some clothes on the line or pick up the kids without it hurting.”

TWT: Another significant injury was breaking your leg in a match played in China.

JG: “It wasn’t ideal because I had just come back from the compartment syndrome I had on my thigh. It was my first game back and in China of all places. I ended up in a Chinese hospital for a few hours, which was a different experience, and then having to fly back with a broken leg wasn’t ideal. Football injuries and surgeries just became the norm for me. There were times when I played three games and then had 10 or 12 surgeries.”

Jarryn Geary leads St Kilda out for a match at the Gabba during the Covid season of 2020. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

TWT: Injuries aside, to still play 200 matches at AFL level, captain a team to a finals win, there was still plenty to be proud of.

JG: “You always would have loved to have had more success and you are envious of the guys who do. But it’s your own journey, your own story, they all look different. With mine I played 200 games, captained the club and had a lot of injuries, but I still had a good time and enjoyed myself. I feel as though I got the most out of myself.”

TWT: You took over as captain from Nick Riewoldt. Did he have any words of advice?

JG: “My first year as captain he was still there so he still played a significant part in leading the club for that season. I played a lot of footy with him and he was very supportive.”

TWT: Was he the best player you played with at the Saints?

JG: “He is definitely the best player and was an incredible player really. But you play with a lot of players you just love to play with and because I was in the back half a lot, I tend to lean more towards those guys. Sean Dempster, Sam Fisher, Jason Blake, Stevie Baker. (Riewoldt) was an incredible player, but the guys I remember playing with the most were the ones you are shoulder to shoulder with in that back six.”

Jarryn Geary playing for St Kilda against West Coast in 2020. Picture: Michael Klein

TWT: The finals victory at the Gabba in front of a small crowd due to Covid. It’s a bit different to playing in front of a packed house at MCG.

JG: “It’s one of those things you only really reflect on now. My wife flew up when she was 32 weeks pregnant and we had a baby in the hub a week before that final. Clearly it was a different environment. But we were pretty lucky because we were in Noosa in a pretty flash resort and had a lot of our family up there supporting us. It was bizarre playing in front of no crowds, at all these different venues and playing on four-day breaks. But we also knew how lucky we were as well compared to the way other people were doing it in metropolitan and country Victoria.”

Originally published as Eaglehawk: Jarryn Geary injury free and playing in Bendigo homecoming