Why St Kilda’s Brad Crouch was forced to retire with degenerative knee problem

St Kilda re-rookied Brad Crouch at the National Draft, only to have him hang up the boots five days later. The former Crow tells JON RALPH what happened and why he was forced to call time.

Retiring St Kilda midfielder Brad Crouch has detailed how his career came to a crashing halt within the space of 18 months, adamant the Saints did everything to support him in his bid to rehabilitate a troublesome knee injury.

Crouch’s departure from St Kilda has been one of the enduring mysteries of the 2024 season after he was put onto the rookie list, only to retire five days later.

It had given rise to some speculation there was tension about his potential payout figure after his single game in 2024 triggered a $550,000 contract for 2025.

But speaking to the Herald Sun on Thursday, Crouch explained the confusing state of events.

As he tried every possible remedy to rehab a knee that had undergone a string of arthroscopic surgeries it became apparent to both parties his knee was shot.

Brad Crouch was forced to retire after a knee issue. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

He was put onto the rookie list to clear a primary list spot at last week’s draft, then eventually both parties came to a financial settlement this week.

Crouch has an interest in a freight company and will start work full time in industrial real estate at Colliers in Essendon Fields after working a day a week there since returning from Adelaide.

After 95 games at Adelaide, including playing in the 2017 Grand Final with brother Matt, he could never believe his career would finish so quickly at the age of 30 after 66 more games at St Kilda.

“I had never had a knee injury until the halfway point of 2023 and it’s amazing how quickly your knee can deteriorate if the wrong part of the knee is overloaded. I carried it through 2023 and had a clean-out at the end of 2023. It was lateral pain – the outside of the knee,” he told the Herald Sun.

“I had a clean-out and came back and then had a little stress fracture at the top of the fibula. And then I came back and had another ‘scope’ again and it kept getting worse.

“I got fit for round 1 (this year) but they were taking a lot of fluid out of it. At one stage I was getting 120ml drained and then I had another scope and then played three games in the VFL.

Jade Gresham, Brad Crouch and Dan Butler sing the song after a Saints win. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“We tried everything – anti-inflammatories, PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections, cortisone injections.

“It got to the stage where I started seeing specialists and the surgeon who did those scopes said once we start doing these it’s a slippery slope. It got to the stage where we were pushing shit uphill and I got three other opinions and they all suggested the same thing.”

At some stage Crouch will need a knee replacement but at 30 he is too young, so there is a procedure called an osteotomy which effectively realigns the knee.

Some NFL players have had that procedure and returned to elite sport, with Crouch open to that option as he also pondered retirement.

He said his desire to try every last treatment to play again in 2025 was why there was confusion over his status in the off-season.

“We have been in talks for a long time. I thought at different stages about having the osteotomy and trying to play and I did a lot of different things in the off-season to try to slowly build it up and the club gave me every chance. And in the end I just felt like I was wasting my time,” he said.

“I was never going to be able to go out and train and play. It was ridiculous.

“The club gave me lots of time and because I was contracted it was more complicated. If not I would have just made the call at the end of the footy season but if anything the club was really supportive in trying to get me to play another year.

Brad Crouch with his brother Matt in 2020. Picture: Sarah Reed

“It’s frustrating but if I jump off the list it gives someone else a crack, which is good. The footy club was great in negotiations. We knocked it out pretty easily. I had got right for round 1. It’s funny how it worked out (with that single game triggering a 2025 deal) but I was playing decent footy in the VFL so I felt like I gave it a crack.”

Crouch admits the balance for AFL players can be impossible as they try to set themselves up post career.

He believes drafted players should spend their first three seasons purely devoted to maximising their AFL talent instead of trying to set themselves up with university studies.

And yet he eventually found time to diversify his interests, which has led him into his post-AFL career with Colliers.

“I have been doing one day a week in the north west office at Essendon fields for three and a half years since I got here. My best mate Nick O’Brien who was at Essendon heads up their northern team in sales and leasing in the industrial market.

“I work in the north west team and it’s a great office to be in and I have absolutely loved the change and getting stuck into it fully.”