Photo: First day of training at HFC for Alex Woodward.
As an 18 year old teenager and new to the AFL system my mindset was simple and that was to earn the respect of my new teammates by working hard and having an appetite to learn. As I was exposed to my first pre season at the Hawthorn Football Club I recognised areas that I really needed to improve at and players that I needed to approach in order to better myself. Asking questions, watching training habits and listening to tips was the way I wanted to go about things in the early stages of my career as I wanted to learn as much as I could especially under the guidance of some of the AFL's elite. Players like Sam Mitchell, Brad Sewell, Jordan Lewis, Luke Hodge and Shaun Burgyone, (the list goes on) were definitely more than enough for a young player to develop key attributes to improve their game. An apprenticeship under these players (in particular Sam Mitchell) was something that I wanted to focus on especially in my first season in the AFL system.
With pre season finishing up in February 2012 all the hard work the boys put in during the gruelling training sessions were finally going to be rewarded with some proper matches in the pre season competition. I was absolutely thrilled to have my name in the squad for the first couple matches as I felt I had worked hard and tried to presented myself to the group in the right manner - I couldn't wait to represent Hawthorn and put on the jersey (with the No.36 on the back) even if it was just a trail game before the official season kicked off. My first game for Hawthorn would be that of the second pre season game in March 2012 as the Hawks took on the newly franchised team of the GWS Gaints, so many of my junior counterparts would be apart of that team as they recruited heavily from the TAC U18s system which I was apart of with the Sandringham Dragons. Knowing that I was starting the game in the midfield at the first centre bounce, I couldn't help to be nervous but more excited than anything else as I was itching to get out on the field. Running out of the change rooms on a sunny day in Launceston, Tasmania it was a great feeling to be apart and have the privilege of representing the club that gave me the opportunity that I always wanted. Once the game started my focus was clear and succinct - simply to be in the moment and enjoy the experience.
*Alex's pre-game song of choice to get him game ready*
Photo Source: Hamish Blair/Getty Images
Alex Woodward lays a tackle in his first game of the AFL pre season competition vs. Greater Western Sydney Giants, March 2012.
Unfortunately., as I was able to find my feet and get my hands on the ball early, my first game ended prematurely as I was caught up in an innocuous tackle where I had twisted my left ankle and right knee at the same time. As I originally waved off the medics as they ran out to my aid I was hoping it would be an injury that I could play with or run out. As I continued to play for a further couple of minutes I finally came to the bench and was quickly assessed by the medical staff in which I told them my ankle was the thing that was giving me grief. While they were assessing my ankle I also mentioned to them that my knee had been feeling a little different to how it usually feels and it was at that point when they told me that it was best for me to start to ice up as my day was done and I would be needing scans on my injuries the next day. As disappointment dominated the rest of my day my emotions turned to fear as I was very much left in the unknown until scans were completed.
Initial diagnosis was fairly unclear as the medical staff knew there was something not right but there was not quite enough evidence to provide me an answer with what was wrong with my knee. Come Monday morning the worst was confirmed - with damage to my left ankle ligaments, I was also the victim of a right ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear and would be needing a full knee reconstruction - how quickly happiness turned to despair for me as I was hoping and praying for the best but ultimately received the dreadful news of missing the rest of the season. Showered with support from my teammates, friends and family - a lot of them realised how hard I had worked to get to that point only to be struck down by injury that would be requiring a good 10-12 months rehab whilst being out of action.
Photo: Alex with roommates Luke Lowden and Jack Gunston, 2012.
The news of needing a knee construction at 18 years of age was obviously devastating but it left me with a fair bit of uncertainty as I had no idea what I was in for having not had a long term injury before in my footballing career. After meeting Julian Feller (renowned specialist knee surgeon) we decided to move forward to a right hamstring graft as part of my right knee reconstruction repair. Pre surgery the nerves kicked in but once I was under anaesthetic it all seemed like a blur as I woke up with a decent amount of pain coming from my right leg. The pain post surgery was the main thing that I had no idea about, but the main factor for me was that the surgery was a success with no problems with the surrounding ligaments in my knee and an expected full recovery. Struggling through the first couple weeks at a house that I was sharing with two of my teammates (Jack Gunston and Luke Lowden) I was also rehabilitating damaged ligaments in my left ankle as well - I was fairly crippled the first few weeks post surgery to say the least. Being couch ridden and constantly icing my newly repaired knee and recovering ankle was not ideal but it did give me time to reflect on what I still wanted to achieve that year.
The early stages of rehab really allowed me to learn a lot about my body and some of the habits that I had (especially diet wise) that weren't necessarily helping me because at that point of my rehabilitation my cardio was fairly limited and I needed to look after my body shape so that I was ready when it came time to step up my rehab program and get going with running and some higher intensity drills out on the track. Learning about dietary requirements, my body type and building good healthier habits that could help me with my recovery is something that I still rely upon today and something that I'm glad I invested in along with the help of the Football club's dietitian (Simone Austin) and high performance manager (Andrew Russell).
Rehab no doubt has the reputation of being a lonely grind at times but it also gave me the opportunity to develop and build some great relationships within the rehab group as injuries are unfortunately are apart of the brutal game being AFL. My rehab coordinator Phil Merriman provided me with stringent programs to follow as well as someone to talk to if I had any questions in regards to what I could and couldn't do - not only was he an expert in providing me rehabilitation advice but through my first season we were able to create a strong bond and friendship that still lasts today. Another relationship that flourished from being out of action for the season was that of mine and Max Bailey who was Hawthorn's ruckman who also unfortunately had already gone through three knee reconstructions himself and was currently rehabilitating a broken wrist at the time of my injury. Max was fantastic for advice during my first season injured as he shared experiences that I could relate to and learn from as I was recovering quite quickly from my knee reconstruction. Finding a balance to invest in my rehabilitation but also find time to spend with my teammates whom I wasn't playing with was something that I struggled to deal with early but learnt to deal with and handle as time passed by. Leaders of the football club were fantastic in keeping me involved and helping me maintain a positive outlook with my injury (in particular Max Bailey and Jarryd Roughead) as each little milestone through my rehab was achieved I was able to both recognise and celebrate another feat that I had surpassed in order to get back to playing again.
Photo: Alex had the privilege of giving back to the wider community during a 'Hawks Community Camp' trip up in the rural area of Katherine, NT. Definitely an unbelievable and eye opening experience that he has not forgotten.
During my time out injured I still wanted to get the most out of the resources I had at hand at the Football club, I worked closely with assistant coaches and players in studying the game and opposition players as I was a strong believer in that if I was injured there still wasn't a reason for me not to continue to develop my craft and improve as a player. Watching a different midfielder every game from the opposition team in isolation allowed me to see the game from a different perspective and gave me an insight into the strengths and weaknesses of some the elite midfielders of the game. I was invested in wanting to see how some midfielders differed to others and why some stood out more than their counterparts. I did this for the whole season and eventually created a 'midfield booklet' that I could look back on when need be.
Photo: Studying was a real escape for Alex as it distracted him from the fact he wasn't able to play. It allowed him to focus some of his energy into having things to fall back on.
Being a teenager and starting to generate an income that was substantial compared to what I was accustomed to - I was able to purchase my first investment property at the age of 19 down by the beach in Melbourne's southern Bayside suburb of Chelsea. Property and real estate was a passion that I had developed since working at Ray White Real Estate as a property manager assistant in Noble Park when I was 16 to 18 years old. With Hawthorn always emphasising the need for players to have something to do outside of football I took that advice on board and completed my diploma of management/leadership whilst also completing my REIV Agent's Rep course (giving me the ability to become a Real Estate Agent or Property Manager) to go along side starting university at Deakin as well. Having ticked off some of my study goals that I had set out for myself at the start of season I was happy to know that I hadn't wasted an opportunity to get something under my belt that wasn't football related. Football doesn't last forever and I understood that - very few get to have prolonged careers and I was keen to at least have something to fall back on if things didn't work out for me.
Photo: Alex's first property investment purchase, 2012.
In hindsight 2012 was definitely a year to reflect on but not necessarily for the negative aspects that had happened during my first year in the AFL system. The silver lining that I found (and may have not even realised at the time) was that although I was a young 18 year old teenager when going down with my first ACL injury it provided me with some character building traits that still stick with me today. I was able to get through some initial tough times and challenge myself with my fitness and build good healthy habits but I was also able to challenge myself off field too and complete a good amount of study whilst continuing to learn the game of Australian Rules Football from a different perspective. I was lucky enough to invest in the property market early (as we all know that property prices at the moment are ridiculous) through saving and gaining an understanding of my finances. But most of all I gained some admiration and respect from my peers and supporters with how I went about my rehabilitation as I tried to continue to better myself as a player and as a person even though I couldn't necessarily contribute on field to the team. Even though my dream of playing AFL football was put on hold at the time, I still felt I was able to develop and improve both on and off field as I believed I would be able to come back bigger and better for my journey ahead.