Dylan Roberton’s heart jumped to 280-300 beats per minute after pre-season game that ended his season

St Kilda defender Dylan Roberton has detailed the alarming numbers behind the heart scare that forced him to step away from football for the 2019 season but he remains committed to making another comeback.

Roberton hopes to play again next year. Picture: Michael Klein

Dylan Roberton’s heart rate alarmingly jumped to 300 beats per minute during the pre-season scare that ended his season but the St Kilda defender remains desperate to return next year.

Roberton, 27, was thinking about lining up against Gold Coast in Round 1 in the moments after the Saints’ JLT victory in Ballarat when suddenly the defibrillator inserted into his chest switched on.

“Your max heart rate is meant to be 220 minus your age or something. After the game it sort of got up to 280-300,” Roberton said.

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“It’s more my heart rate trying to settle back down from exercise.

“When I’m actually up at the highest level and I’m working really hard it’s fine. It’s just as it’s trying to recover it sort of gets out of whack a bit.”

Last month’s episode followed Roberton collapsing on the field in Round 4 last year but the defender, who has three young kids, has no hesitations about trying to return again.

Dylan Roberton is helped by trainers after his first heart scare against Geelong last year.

“I feel like now I’m on the medication I’ve got the defib in, and it went off, so that sort of gives me confidence that it works,” Roberton told ABC Grandstand last week.

“So if anything does happen, I’m sort of safe. Which is probably a strange way to look at it.

“The word I’ve used a lot is frustrating that they can’t sort of figure it out. Every time you go back you think they’re (doctors) going to have an answer for you, but they’re scratching their heads.

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“Hopefully with the year off they’ll be able to dig a bit deeper.”

Roberton has joined Alan Richardson’s coaches box and “copped a spray” from Richardson after Round 1 because the defenders’ kick-ins were “boring”.

Roberton’s passion for coaching started about six years ago and the medical setback has given him a head start on “learning how to use the laptops and code games”.

Roberton hopes to play again next year. Picture: Michael Klein

Roberton played with Jayden Pitt at Fremantle, who was forced to retire due to a heart condition, while Collingwood drafted Rising Star Jaidyn Stephenson with a different condition.

But the frustration for Roberton is, unlike that pair, his problem is undiagnosed.

Roberton’s doctors have not detected his problem in athletes across the world.

“My heart is healthy, it’s just the electrical side of things,” he said.

Roberton said his kids were “too young to understand” the exact circumstances.

“I told them I’m not playing this year so they’re a little bit confused, I’m still going to the club every day. They’re sort of scratching their head as to why I’m leaving every day,” he said.

“Obviously it’s pretty frustrating to do the whole pre-season and to do that hard work and get through with no symptoms whatsoever.

“Then as soon as the siren went in JLT2 to finally be over the line and thinking Round 1 is just around the corner and have another little setback was really frustrating.”