Kayne is still able By TONY SHEAHAN
Sunday Herald-Sun 09 AUG 2009, Page S19
stuff injury steels Tiger forward for one more shot to prove his valueINJURED Tiger Kayne Pettifer might be done for season 2009, but he has declared "I'm nowhere near finished" as an AFL footballer.
On the sidelines with a split knee cap, Pettifer said his best days ahead of him.
"I just want to get back to playing AFL footy where I belong," he said this week.
"I'm nowhere near finished and just want to get back playing, hopefully with Richmond. If not Richmond, well, I just want to play.
"I know I've got another three or four years of good footy left in me."
The 27-year-old's season came to an abrupt halt when a stuff accident saw his knee cap split while playing for VFL outfit Coburg. He is now stuck on 113 games after nine seasons at Punt Rd.
"I was standing next to teammate Mark Coughlan at a throw in," Pettifer said.
"I took off and was running at normal speed and then went to decelerate. One of their players came to shepherd me and then -- I don't know how -- the kneecap just gave way and split in two.
"The pain was excruciating. I was in a bit of shock as well, to see half your knee cap half up near your quaddie (muscle) and the other half down near your shin. But once the doc came out and pushed them together, then the initial pain went away.
"It was 12 months to the day that I had my knee done, so it was pretty freaky.
"I will be in a brace for six weeks. That will let the bone heal and then around 10 to 12 weeks I will start running and build the leg muscle up again.
"My leg feels like jelly at the moment. I'm losing up to 15 per cent of muscle a day.
"I'm just glad there was no damage to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament)."
As he sat waiting to be taken to hospital, his teammates came in.
"I was on the green stick (painkilling inhalant) and totally lost it in the rooms. The coach (Craig McRae) was giving the after-match speech and I was in fairyland. I was saying some weird things,'' he said.
The timing of the injury could not have been worse.
Out of contract and unable to prove his worth, Pettifer's future is in the hands of club bosses and a coach yet to be named.
"I haven't sought any assurances. With four weeks to go until the end of the season, I'll just wait and see," he said.
"There is always a bit of doubt in the back of your mind. I've had two pretty ordinary years. I've gone from playing every game for three years and being very durable, to the last two seasons, which have been very frustrating.
"I'm not sure what my future is going to be. All I know is I still have the hunger. This injury is only going to spur me on.
"I get along very well Jade (Rawlings). But, just because you are good mates, it doesn't mean he is going to keep me there.
"I would love at least one more year with the club. That would make it 10 years and life membership."
Former Richmond coach Terry Wallace was a welcome voice for the small forward.
Wallace rang Pettifer to check on his welfare and encourage him to get back to playing football.
"It was good to have a chat to him. He wants me to go out there and prove a point.," Pettifer said.
"You go from seeing the guy every day, trying to impress him, talk to him and then the footy club moves on."
Pettifer's fall from grace has been quick.
After playing every game from 2005-07, Pettifer earned the respect of teammates and opponents, forging a career as a small forward.
"I was one of the top few in the competition for marks inside forward 50," he said.
"I worked my game around work rate and blew my opponent up with my running.
"I would hit up the ground and charge back as much as I could.
"I based myself on hard work rate and that came from 'Richo' (Matthew Richardson) pushing me."
But the past two seasons have been less memorable.
"It's pretty frustrating really, to become a leader at a club then to take on a leadership role under Kane Johnson, and now, just holding on to a list spot," he said.
"I've played 100 games. It hasn't been a very successful era and it's been a poor year this year. And the now the club is going in a new direction.
"I want to be a part of it."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25900974-19771,00.html
