AFL draft 2020: How Sturt’s Tom Powell bounced back from serious hip surgery to become one of SA’s top prospects
Sturt’s Tom Powell had serious hip surgery in October last year. This is how the ball magnet bounced back to become one of SA’s top AFL Draft prospects.
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Tom Powell said the pain in his right hip became so severe it even hurt to sneeze.
After taking anti-inflammatory medication to get through the 2019 season and wincing in pain every time he kicked the ball, Sturt’s midfield ball magnet decided enough was enough.
“I could put up with a bit of pain in games, but not in every day life,’’ he said.
“The hip was causing me a fair bit of discomfort, so I thought the best option was surgery.’’
Powell – the teenage son of former Adelaide Crow and Double Blues Jack Oatey Medallist Matthew Powell – had endured two tough, injury-riddled seasons.
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In 2018, he battled hamstring tightness and a grade two strain which cost him four matches.
Last year his hip became sore in the pre-season and scans later revealed he had hip impingement syndrome – a genetic condition where the ball and socket of the hip joint don’t fit together properly.
“I had a misshaped hip bone, which didn’t quite fit into the socket and caused the bones to grind together every time I moved,’’ Powell said.
The condition can be eased by anti-inflammatories and Powell got through the season using cortisones and deep heat cream.
But he was restricted in his movement and continually sore, prompting him to last October opt for the longer term fix of surgery.
“The surgeon had to shave some bone off, reshape it, and suck some fluid out to fix the problem,’’ he said.
Powell spent four months in rehabilitation and entered his draft year with AFL recruiters questioning his body.
“There was a bit of stigma around me with injury,’’ the 18-year-old said.
That stigma should have been erased now.
With his right hip fully healed and no concerns with his left hip, Powell this year enjoyed a junior season for the ages.
The inside midfielder averaged a remarkable, competition-best 162 Champion Data ranking points and 35 disposals in the SANFL under-18s to rocket up draft boards.
He won both the under-18 McCallum Tomkins Medal as best and fairest player in the elite competition, polling votes in seven of his 12 minor round games as Sturt won the minor premiership, and Torrens University Cup MVP Award.
Powell had a staggering 47 disposals against West Adelaide in round 10 where he showcased the clean and quick hands in traffic which have drawn comparisons to Brownlow Medallists Lachie Neale (Brisbane) and Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) and has put him in the first-round draft conversation.
“It was nice not to have to play through injury this year, my hip felt super, so I’m very happy with the decision to have the surgery,’’ he said.
“The knock on me has been my durability but I felt I showed this year that I could string games together in what was a long, tough season, with a couple of pre-seasons (due to COVID-19), 14 minor rounds and three finals. I’m proud of how the season panned out for me.’’
Powell, a nice size at 183cm and 74kg and renowned for his astute reading of the play which allows him to win so much of the ball, models his game on fellow ball magnets Neale and Collingwood’s Adam Treloar.
“They both use their hands really well at stoppages and are very clean,’’ he said.
“I liked the way Neale tried to run and carry the ball and kick it more this year, which is something I’m trying to do.’’
A Gold Coast supporter who is studying commerce at university, Powell said his dad – who played 16 AFL games for the Crows from 1993-95 and 208 SANFL matches for South Adelaide and Sturt, where he won a flag and Oatey Medal in 2002, from 1991-2004 – had been “super supportive’’ of his career, even acting as runner for a couple of his junior teams at Unley.
“Dad’s been great at giving me feedback but he understands that I have my own coaches, so he doesn’t try to cloud my head with too many opinions,’’ he said.
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- Matt Turner
Shortly after Caleb Poulter’s Zoom meetings start with AFL clubs, the chat turns to his hair.
“That seems to be the opening line for most recruiters, to start talking about my mullet,” the Woodville-West Torrens draft prospect tells The Advertiser.
“It sort of breaks the ice a bit, which is good.”
Poulter has been growing the back of his hair for the past 18 months, while keeping the sides and front short.
Watch the replay of the SA all-stars match on the player above.
Some recruiters have complimented him on it but it has prompted on-field jeers.
“It’s getting pretty long and everyone’s telling me to cut it but I reckon I’ll keep it for the time being,” he says.
“I don’t know if Mum (Shannon) is too keen on it – it’s getting a bit out of control and is down to my shoulders – but Dad (Daniel) loves it.”
RELATED: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS, STATS OF SA’S TOP 30
Mullet aside, Poulter, 18, is not exactly inconspicuous on the football field.
He boasts a booming left-foot kick, is 192cm and 80kg, bobs up everywhere thanks to his versatility – and wears bright boots.
The utility has worn yellow ones this season and donned a new pink and yellow pair in October’s SA under-18 all-stars game, featuring some of the state’s best draft prospects.
“I’ve got probably the brightest boots and probably the biggest mullet, so I’ve got a few strong points when it comes to standing out on the field, which is good,” he says.
“I look about 10 years younger without my mullet and I like bright boots, weird-looking boots, so I know it gets me noticed … but I want to be noticed for my football ability.”
Whatever the reason for attracting attention, Poulter is getting plenty from recruiters.
He has had more registered interviews with AFL clubs than any other SA player and particular interest from Adelaide, Hawthorn and North Melbourne.
Poulter has shone this season for the Eagles’ reserves, gathered 22 disposals in the club’s losing under-18 grand final and starred for Henley High, helping it reach the SA All-Schools Cup decider.
FULL REPLAY: SEE POULTER IN ACTION FOR HENLEY HIGH
At November’s SA draft combine, he recorded the second-highest running vertical jump (right foot), the fourth-fastest time in the 20m sprint and came fifth in the 2km time trial.
The SANFL shutdown from March to June threatened to derail the draft chances of lots of hopefuls but it proved important for Poulter’s campaign.
He returned to his hometown of Ardrossan, where his parents still live and run a flooring business, for part of the break, using the gym in his family’s house and heading to an oval to kick the footy most days.
Poulter puts his heaving left foot down to growing up on the Yorke Peninsula as an only child.
“There was no one to kick to so I’d kick to myself most of the time,” he says.
“It definitely wasn’t from my dad because there’s been a few stories about him, how he’d like to sit in the goalsquare and kick bags (for amateur clubs) … and he’s right footed.”
Recently retired ex-Crows and GWS ruckman Sam Jacobs also hails from Ardrossan and has become a mentor for Poulter.
“I’m pretty close with Sammy,” says Poulter of Jacobs, who will line up for his junior club, Ardrossan Kangaroos, next year.
“Whenever he was at the Crows and wasn’t playing, he’d come up to watch my games.
“If I need to talk I can flick him a text, which I’m grateful for, and we stay in contact as much as possible, maybe once every few weeks.”
Moving from the country to West Beach last year has Poulter primed for what lies ahead.
He lives only with fellow Eagles draft hopeful, Kadina-raised ruckman Zac Phillips, and they share cooking and cleaning duties.
“I know if I did get drafted to Melbourne or Brisbane, I know I’d be ready because I’ve already had that 12 months of independence,” says Poulter, whose go-to home-cooked dish is spaghetti.
If he does get drafted, Poulter says he will bring much more to his new club than just his mullet and colourful boots.
“I feel like I’m hardworking and dedicated on and off the field, and feel like I’ve got a bright personality.”
Originally published as AFL draft 2020: How Sturt’s Tom Powell bounced back from serious hip surgery to become one of SA’s top prospects