Dylan Roberton to step away from footy but won’t give up on AFL career
St Kilda defender Dylan Roberton will step away from AFL football in an effort to find an answer to the heart irregularities that have derailed his career. And his captain says the decision sums up his selfless teammate.
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St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary has praised the selflessness of defender Dylan Roberton, saying he almost shed a tear when his teammate announced he would sit out the 2019 season.
Roberton fronted his Saints teammates on Friday to say he was taking time away from the game to deal with his second heart irregularity issue within 12 months.
In doing so, he also paved the way for the Saints to recruit former Blue Sam Rowe within the AFL time frame.
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Geary said Roberton was more focused on welcoming former Blue Sam Rowe as a replacement recruit to the club than dwelling on his own predicament.
“Dylan is a quality person, he doesn’t really want to burden anyone with his issues,” Geary said.
“It has always been about what’s best for the team going forward.
“Even today (Friday) he spoke about how happy he is for the opportunity for someone like Sam Rowe to continue his AFL career and take his position on the list.
“To be in a position where he isn’t going to be able to play this year and to still talk about someone else’s career … that nearly brought a tear to my eye.”
Roberton, 27 and a father of three, collapsed in the club’s Round 4 clash with Geelong last year, bringing a premature end to his 2018 season.
He was given the all-clear by medical staff to play this year after undergoing extensive tests and having a defibrillator inserted.
But he felt “wonky” during a JLT clash with Western Bulldogs in Ballarat last week, spending a night in hospital as a result.
An examination of the internal device in Roberton’s chest showed a period of irregularity before it activated at the conclusion of Sunday’s game.
He hasn’t closed the door on his AFL career, saying he wants to use the year ahead to try and find an answer to his heart irregularity mystery.
“It’s extremely frustrating because I physically feel fine, and if you exclude those two incidents, I’m as healthy as I’ve ever been,” Roberton said.
“I still have a great desire to play at the highest level and want to make sure we look at every possibility.
“Given the club’s ability to add a player to the list, I wanted to make the call while they still had time to do so.”
The Saints are not yet certain of Paddy McCartin’s immediate future, following his eighth concussion in five years last weekend.
Geary said McCartin had returned to the club, but would be given as much time as required.
“He has got some tests he will need to go through before he is back out on the park,” Geary said. “Last year he took three weeks of tests, it might be a similar time frame.”
The skipper said the club’s frustrating run of issues — including a serious back injury to Jake Carlisle, Jack Steven’s mental health issues and an injury to recruit Dan Hannebery — would not dampen the resolve of the team ahead of the Round 1 clash with Gold Coast on Sunday week.
“I am confident and hopefully that it will galvanise the group and if it does, it will show people that we are hoping to win games of footy,” he said.
STEVEN HOPES TO PLAY ROUND 1
Jack Steven wants to play in Round 1, but St Kilda skipper Jarryn Geary says the club’s coaching and medical staff haven’t yet given the green light.
The Saints announced late last month that the four-time best-and-fairest winner was stepping away from the game for a period to deal with a mental health issue.
But Steven returned to the club recently and is hoping to take on Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium in Round 1.
“He certainly wants to play,” Geary said of Steven.
“He loves footy, he loves the footy club and he wants to be out there with his teammates.
“He wants to perform strongly to get the four points for Round 1.
“But he will have to tick a couple of boxes and that is out of my control. That will come down to conversations between Jack, the medical staff and the coaching group.”
Geary said Steven was happy to be back at the club, but stressed his long-term welfare was more important than simply playing in the first game of the season.
“He just needs to continue to improve,” he said.
“His mental and physical health is important to us going forward and if he is right to go, he will be right to go. But that (decision) isn’t something I will be a part of.”