Jason McCartney, Jarryd Roughead and Tom Lonergan feature in the AFL’s best comebacks since 2001

FROM Jason McCartney’s Bali bravery to Tom Lonergan playing 200 games after suffering a lacerated kidney, these are the best AFL’s comebacks since 2001.

IT’S the ultimate tribute to 21st century footy.

Herald Sun football reporters Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane have worked through every jaw-dropping, fist-pumping moment of the past 17 seasons — from 2001 to 2017.

Today, they look at the best AFL comebacks since 2001.

Also, stay tuned throughout the week as Ralphy and Macca name their ultimate starting 22.

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17 IN 17: FOOTY’S MOST-LOVED CULT FIGURES

THE BIGGEST COMEBACKS 2001-2017

1. McCARTNEY’S MIRACLE, 2003

If it was a miracle Jason McCartney survived the Bali bombings in 2002, how could you possibly describe his emotional AFL comeback the following year? He was drinking at Paddy’s Bar with his North Melbourne teammate Mick Martyn when an explosion went off, turning the bar into a raging inferno in October 2002. McCartney suffered burns to 50 per cent of his body, and almost died on the operating table. He spent five days in a coma. Told he would never play football again, he was determined to prove them wrong. Against overwhelming odds, he returned for the Round 11, 2003 game against Richmond — 237 days after the bombings — to set up one of the match-defining goals before announcing his retirement on the ground immediately after the game.

Jason McCartney is chaired off the ground in his comeback match.

2. THE BOMBERS’ RECORD FIGHTBACK, 2001

When Shannon Grant kicked yet another North Melbourne goal at the 10-minute-mark of the second term of the Round 16, 2001 clash with Essendon, the game seemed done and dusted. The Kangaroos led by 69 points; the reigning premiers looked shot. But in one of the matches of the millennium, Essendon turned in a Lazarus-like performance with the biggest comeback in AFL history. It produced a miracle 12-point win — an 81-point turnaround from Grant’s goal. The scoreline: Essendon 27.9 (171) to North’s 25.9 (159).

3. PLUGGER PULLS THEM ON AGAIN, 2002

Tony Lockett was 33 when he retired as the game’s greatest goalkicker at the end of 1999. But the football world almost spun off its axis two years later with news Plugger was making a comeback at the age of 36. The return was one of the footy biggest news stories, but it wasn’t as successful as he or the Swans envisaged. He managed only three more games for three more goals before reluctantly bringing a permanent end to his remarkable career.

4. ROUGHY’S RETURN, 2017

Jarryd Roughead’s return to football after his second fight against aggressive melanoma was the season’s feel-good story. His unadulterated joy in running out again for Round 1 this year brought smiles around the country. It came in the same game as the suspended Essendon players made their return from doping bans, with Roughead going head to head as skipper against fellow Leongatha product Dyson Heppell on a night that won’t be forgotten.

Tony Lockett kicks for goal in his AFL return. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Tom Lonergan is chaired from the field after playing his 200th game. Picture: Getty Images

5. TOUGH TOM CAT, 2007 and 2008

Tom Lonergan almost died after suffering severe internal injuries, including a lacerated kidney, when he bravely backed into a marking contest with Melbourne’s Brad Miller in 2006. The accidental collision saw him placed in an induced coma, lose a kidney and have 40 units of blood flushed through his system. It looked the end of a promising career. But Lonergan not only fought his way back the following year, winning a flag in the VFL with Geelong, but returned to the AFL team in Round 10, 2008. No one deserved a premiership medal more than Lonergan in 2011, and he remains one of the Cats’ most courageous players.

6. COUSINS COMEBACKS, 2007 and 2009

Ben Cousins made two high-profile comebacks from his drug addiction. The first came for West Coast in Round 16, 2007, after being suspended indefinitely by the club at the start of that season. He had 38 disposals in the game against Sydney. Sadly, his drug issues escalated at the end of that season and he was banned by the AFL for 12 months in November 2007. Richmond gave him a chance in the 2009 preseason draft, and he made his comeback in new colours in the Round 1 clash against Carlton that year, tearing his hamstring. He went on to play 32 games in two seasons with the Tigers.

7. POLAK’S PLUCK, 2009

In 2008 Graham Polak was 24, had played 106 games with Fremantle and Richmond, and was just starting to feel comfortable at AFL level. But just hours after playing in a game against Carlton, he was struck by a tram late at night in Armadale, leaving him with life-threatening head injuries. He worked exceptionally hard on his rehabilitation, leading to his senior comeback against Hawthorn in Round 21 in 2009. He would only play five games following the tram accident, but his courage in doing so proved an inspiration to others.

8. RAMA’S RETURN, 2004 and 2007

A young star in Essendon’s 2000 premiership side, Adam Ramanauskas had the football world at his feet in the early 2000s. But twice, in 2003 and 2006, ‘Rama’ had to confront cancer head on. He did so in the belief that the fight was always going to include a return to the game he loved. He returned in 2004, and again in 2007, after beating the disease, and after Essendon developed a ‘Clash with Cancer’ cause — with a yellow armband first donned by teammate Dean Solomon — which continues to this day.

Adam Ramanauskas celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in his return game.

9. DAN AND THE KNEES, 2015

Geelong forward Daniel Menzel’s first knee reconstruction cost him a premiership in 2011. His next three almost cost him his career. But through all the rehab he kept fighting. His comeback match against Collingwood in Round 22, 2015, produced a remarkable moment — he kicked four of his team’s nine goals on a night when the whole crowd had their hearts in their mouths. He got through and his past two seasons have produced 32 games. Add into this mix the likes of 2012 premiership Swan Alex Johnson (five knee reconstructions), who returned to the NEAFL recently, and former Docker Anthony Morabito (three reconstructions).

10. DEW DILIGENCE, 2008

Stuart Dew was a year out of the game and tipping the scales at just over 120kg when Alastair Clarkson insisted the Hawks draft him against the wishes of some of those within the club. Thankfully, they did. The 2004 Port Adelaide premiership player shed around 20kg and returned with 25 disposals and two goals in his first game with the Hawks. He had hamstring issues but showed his real worth in the Hawks’ 2008 premiership, kicking two goals in the third term as well as assisting in two others.

11. THE SURGING SAINTS, 2015

Just before halftime of the Round 6, 2015 clash, Bulldog Jake Stringer was getting into St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt with the scoreboard the subject of the conversation. The Dogs led by 49 points, and stretched it to 55 with another Stringer goal early in the third term. From there, the Saints produced the fifth greatest comeback in AFL history, kicking 12 goals to three in the second half, to score a seven-point win. Saints coach Alan Richardson wasn’t alone when he said: “I didn’t see that coming.”