Can a single, four-centimetre piece of connective tissue change the shape of the AFL as we know it? Most certainly, in the case of Nic Naitanui’s second ACL tear. The West Coast Eagles last night confirmed what we all knew but pretended wasn’t true: Nic Naitanui has suffered a second torn ACL in the space of 24 months. This time, sadly for all concerned, it is in his “good” – as it is ominously described by many in the Western Australian football media – right knee. The previous ACL tear was in his left knee. That’s the injury that saw Naitanui spend 19 months on the sidelines, building strength, suffering a set back, and working to regain the playing condition he spent almost a decade building towards. The workout videos were cool, but Nic Nat would’ve rather been playing. Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share Now, after 15 games, we are once again set to be without one of the game’s brightest stars – a superlative I do not dish out lightly – for an extended period of time. The implications are numerous, and significant. For Nic Naitanui, and his prime years Nic Naitanui was 26 years, 108 days old when he first injured his knee in 2016. He is now 28 years and 72 days old, facing the prospect of another season or most lost to injury should he and the Eagles go down the path of a traditional knee reconstruction as they did last time out. If we assume Naitanui’s rehabilitation takes as long as it did last time around (583 days), he will be back playing for West Coast in Round 1 2020. At that time, Naitanui will be 76 days away from his 30th birthday. There’s no one definition of a player’s ‘prime age’, but the rule of thumb is 25 to 29. If things go as laid out above, Naitanui will have spent more time rehabilitating than playing during the prime years of his career. No matter which way you cut it, that’s a football tragedy (to the extent football things can be labelled as such). Naitanui’s playing style has been a unique – unprecedented in modern times at least – blend of size, agility and athleticism. At age 30, with two ACL surgeries in his rear view, one can only question whether the agility can remain part of his skill set. This will almost assuredly result in a ‘new’ Nic Nat. Advertisement Advertisement However we shouldn’t necessarily be scared at that prognosis. Naitanui’s size is a comparative advantage, but so is his tap work. At his best Naitanui is the best tap ruckman in the competition, deftly placing the ball in the belly of his Eagles teammate s with striking regularity. Without the freakish agility, we may just see a refined form of Nic Naitanui, like a whisky that’s been maturing in an oak barrel. For West Coast’s 2018 season West Coast will survive Naitanui’s absence. For all of his excellent play, the hulking ruckman had been on the field for 1,026 minutes in 2018, the equivalent of just over eight full games of football. In that time Naitanui took 695 ruck contests, the 13th most in the competition and only 60 more than his teammate Scott Lycett (per AFL Stats Pro). Those ruck contests were generally very good for West Coast. Naitanui was second to Aaron Sandilands for hit out win percentage, and delivered the ball to his team’s advantage 29 per cent of the time – 11th for ruckmen with at least 600 ruck contests on the season. Naitanui is also currently second sixth for total clearances among ruckmen, but is the only player to be inside the top ten for both centre and stoppage clearances. In my 2018 preseason preview mega column, I was salivating at the prospect of Naitanui being allowed to go to work without a third man up getting in his way. He certainly delivered the goods. Champion Data’s AFL Player Rating system had Naitanui as the seventh best player in the competition through Round 16, despite his relatively low utilisation. He was putting together a stellar season, albeit among a crowded field of both Eagles and ruckmen. West Coast will survive without Naitanui for the rest of 2018. Coach Adam Simpson has built a scheme that prioritises ball movement and control, rather than relies on midfield domination or power in stoppage situations. Naitanui is an outstanding player, and one of the most impactful in the league. But to my eye he was not the difference between West Coast winning or losing on a regular basis. Advertisement Advertisement However, it is clear he is capable of producing incredible bursts of influence in short periods of time, be it through his ruckwork, his defensive prowling around the centre of the ground, or with a high mark on the wing. Naitanui is a great ruckman, but he’s also the sort of spark one may need to light a fire in a dark, dreary tunnel. Survive? Yes. West Coast will play September football in 2018. Prosper? That’s more of an open question. For West Coast’s list management This is where Naitanui’s injury could get complex, and quickly, for the Eagles. And it’s not even about Naitanui himself. West Coast has three young restricted free agents to manage in the 2018 off season: Andrew Gaff, Jeremy McGovern and Scott Lycett. Naitanui’s knee affects them all. It affects Lycett more so than the others, at least directly. There has been some talk around the place that Lycett might like to take on the number one ruckman mantle, a title under normal circumstances he is almost never going to hold so long as Naitanui is at the club. Well, never just became now. With Naitanui down, Lycett is the man. But what happens at the end of this season, when Lycett and his management sit down to listen to the offers of half a dozen teams across the league who might like to entertain the notion of the 26-year-old as their number one ruckman? Suddenly, West Coast becomes a more attractive option, at least in the short term.<doc-sep>West Coast coach Adam Simpson says Nic Naitanui will be granted time away from the club as he comes to grips with the prospect of another year on the sidelines. The Eagles confirmed on Monday night that Naitanui would have a traditional knee reconstruction after scans confirmed he had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during their win over Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday. Simpson said he would allow the dust to settle before sitting down privately with Naitanui. “The one thing we do have on our side now is time,” Simpson told SEN. “He’ll probably need to get away from the club now for a little while. “It’s hard to get some space for Nic, as you can imagine, so that’s probably the next goal for us is to try and get him some space to wind down a little bit.” Naitanui missed the 2016 finals series and all of last year while recovering from major knee surgery after rupturing the ACL in his left knee almost two years ago. The 28-year-old faces a big challenge to return to action before the end of next season, when he comes out of contract. But Simpson said he did not fear Naitanui’s best football was behind him. “Not really. That was the fear last time and he was looking all right this year,” he said. Camera Icon Nic Naitanui in the rooms after his injury. Credit: Seven News “It’s the other knee. He’ll go through the process and we’ll see what we get at the end of it. “He might have to change a few things, but he’ll give himself every chance and that’s all we can ask for.” Simpson backed Naitanui to cope with the strain of the setback. “He’s pretty resilient,” Simpson said. “He’s so giving and kind, nothing’s too much trouble. He’s a great ambassador for the AFL. “The initial process he’s got to go through is going to be tough, but once he gets back to rehab and getting around the club and trying to involve himself with the players … the fact he’s gone through it before, he might be able to take some heart from.” Simpson now has to decide whether to continue playing two ruckmen in his team or move to the more common tactic of playing one, with a part-timer in support. The Eagles used Nathan Vardy as the lead ruckman last season when Naitanui and Scott Lycett were injured. “The decision we need to make now is whether we play two rucks with Vardy playing quite well at reserve level or do we, dare I say it, go down the more traditional path where it’s one ruck who rucks a bit longer,” Simpson said.<doc-sep>West Coast Eagles star Nic Naitanui says his “heart hurts” but has vowed to prevail through adversity as he begins the long road back from a second serious knee injury. Naitanui will require a reconstruction on his right knee following an awkward landing against Collingwood, less than two years after an injury to his left knee that needed the same procedure. The 28-year-old was 15 games into his return from the initial injury when he crashed to the turf on Sunday. Naitanui took to Instagram this morning to release his first words since learning he had ruptured his ACL, posting a picture of his late mother Atetha, accompanied by music. “Times like this I wish I had your shoulder to cry on all day or a massive hug to say it’ll all be OK,” Naitanui wrote. “Time to suck it up n soldier on. “My heart hurts right now but if you know me there’s some poor soul confronting tougher trials and tribulations in the world. “God gives His hardest battles, to His strongest soldiers #watchmeprevail.” The post had racked up more than 6000 likes inside its first hour as kind messages and well wishes flooded in. It comes as some of the league’s ruck greats backed Naitanui to return to top form following the second procedure, which will result in at least 12 months on the sidelines. West Coast’s players and coaching staff have rallied around the talismanic ruckman in the wake of the setback, saying Naitanui would be hard to replace on the field. “He’s a spiritual leader for us out there,” Eagles midfielder Luke Shuey said yesterday. “He can get 21 guys going off just one act. That’s a pretty special trait to have. “His first season back from his ACL... he’s been huge for us this year.”<doc-sep>A VISIBLY distraught Adam Simpson has shown his vulnerability, after receiving news that ruckman Nic Naitanui may have seriously injured his right knee. Naitanui ended the match on crutches, with Scott Lycett carrying the ruck load in the second half, as the Eagles steamrolled the Magpies by 35 points at the MCG. “I’m not very good at this stuff, dealing with it,” Simpson said on Fox Footy. “But I think you’ve got to show your emotion at footy clubs. That’s what we’re all about. We’re here to support him and support the players around him.” While the extent of Naitanui’s injury is still unknown, Simpson cut a dejected figure, which could suggest a season-ending injury for the star ruckman. “We don’t know yet, but it doesn’t look great,” Simpson said. “We’ve got our fingers crossed for him. It’s just unfortunate. It’s put a bit of a dampener on the environment. “I’m really proud of the players today to get it done, after a bit of a shaky start and then respond the way they did. I’m just really proud.” While Simpson was on the verge of tears, the man most affected was reportedly in good spirits. “He’s such a loving person,” Simpson said. “No one says a bad word about Nic Nat. He’s resilient. He’ll be OK. “It’s a bitter pill to swallow at the moment.” Naitanui underwent a full reconstruction on his left knee at the end of 2016 that kept him sidelined for the entire 2017 season. While he hasn’t played massive minutes in 2018, Naitanui’s return has coincided with the Eagles resurgence. Four-time premiership player Jordan Lewis suggested that while the Eagles had the luxury of a second ruckman in Scott Lycett, Naitanui’s injury could have massive ramifications for the Eagles’ season. “The ability of their midfielders to adapt their mindset, they would have been more aggressive when Nic Naitanui was in the side,” Lewis said. “When Nic Nat is out of the side they need to be a little bit more defensive than they’d usually be.” Nic Naitanui suffered his injury in the second quarter. Photo: AAP Image/Julian Smith Source: AAP Naitanui’s injury was sustained in a rather innocuous incident, with the big ruckman limping after a ruck contest. Dual North Melbourne premiership player David King was blunt when assessing Naitanui’s injury, suggesting it could put a massive dint in the Eagles’ premiership aspirations. “This is their most influential player,” King said. “He’s a human wrecking ball this guy. He changes the course of games. “It’s a significant loss for them. They’ve tried to manage him throughout the season. “I just think this is a disaster for the West Coast Eagles if it is to be a long-term injury.”<doc-sep>
FOOTBALL can be cruel. So less than 24 hours after Nic Naitanui succumbed to a knee injury, the question is already being asked: Can the Eagles win the flag without their star ruckman? The one soldier in, one soldier out theory certainly doesn’t cut it when it comes to Naitanui. Indeed, according to dual North Melbourne premiership player David King, the ruckman is one of the most influential and inimitable players in the competition. “We know what the loss of Nic Nat does, we saw this last year and the numbers fall away dramatically,” King said on Fox Footy. “They go from first in hit-outs to 15th, they go from third in scores from clearances to bottom three or four. Last year they were second last for clearance differential. “He has the biggest impact that one man can have on any team, there is no doubt about that. “He’s not about numbers, he’s not about disposals, he’s about influence. “He plays 60 per cent game time and he has more influence in that 60 per cent of game time than any other player. This is not just one player, this is someone that disarms a football team.” Nic Naitanui on crutches. Photo: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia As King flagged, Naitanui missed all of 2017 as he recovered from a ruptured ACL sustained late in 2016. His return in 2018 has been nothing short of magnanimous, with the Eagles’ midfield the biggest beneficiary. Naitanui is aggressive and the Eagles’ on-ballers can be equally as proactive when their man is at the coalface. While West Coast had flagged a potential rest for Naitanui towards the end of the year, King suggested the club had managed the 28-year-old any better. “The risk mitigation of playing him in short bursts, he had six or seven-minutes bursts right throughout the first 15, 16 rounds of the season,” King said. “It’s a disaster (but) they couldn’t have done anything in any way shape or form better than what they did. “I feel for the West Coast Eagles and the coaching staff and their strength and conditioning crew, because this has just been one of those things.” Coach Adam Simpson was close to tears as he discussed Naitanui’s potential season-ending injury. While the club was careful not to talk about the specifics of the injury, Simpson’s demeanour left many thinking Naitanui may have ruptured his right ACL. “We don’t know yet, but it doesn’t look great,” Simpson said. “We’ve got our fingers crossed for him. It’s just unfortunate. It’s put a bit of a dampener on the environment. “I’m really proud of the players today to get it done, after a bit of a shaky start and then respond the way they did. I’m just really proud.” The one factor working in the Eagles’ favour is that Simpson has taken two recognised ruckmen into every game this season. Scott Lycett has played 16 matches, averaging 18.6 hit-outs and 12.9 disposals per match. While there’s no doubting the 25-year-old will need to play above himself in order to carry the ruck load, he’s AFL conditioned. And against Collingwood in the second half, Lycett more than held his own against Brodie Grundy. And Melbourne champion Garry Lyon said that was significant. “The saving grace is that Lycett has had game time and has played for most of the year, so it’s not like he’s coming in cold from WAFL Footy,” Lyon said. “But I think Nic exerts so much influence. It makes (winning the flag) really hard. “But against quality opposition, he was off at halftime, they put Collingwood to the sword in the second half so that gives them belief. You can’t rule it out definitively.”