{"id":142669,"date":"2023-09-28T12:25:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T02:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=142669"},"modified":"2023-09-28T12:25:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T02:25:55","slug":"classy-colvin-arrived-at-the-light-end-of-the-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2023\/09\/28\/classy-colvin-arrived-at-the-light-end-of-the-tunnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Classy Colvin arrived at the light end of the tunnel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE last 12 months or so have certainly had their fair share of ups and downs for Melbourne defender Gabby Colvin<\/a>, who returns to the AFL Women’s tonight after tearing her ACL just before Season 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty tough,\u201d Colvin said, talking about the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously anyone with a long term injury will tell you that it\u2019s hard, not playing contact sport and the sport you love for 12 months, it does grind you down. But I\u2019m really lucky to have an amazing support system, my friends and family and all the support staff here and all my teammates, so that made it a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missing all of last season was made even more emotionally difficult for Colvin when her team mates went on to win the Season 7 premiership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a little bit bittersweet, but it made it all worth it when you see your team mates holding up the cup and you\u2019re so happy for them and you\u2019re ecstatic and it just makes you hungry to go out and do it yourself,\u201d Colvin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not too long into the Season 7 preseason when Colvin did the injury, and it was a case of history repeating itself, with last season\u2019s ACL injury not the first one the star defender had done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo it was the first week back of preseason of last year\u2019s second season. It was one of our third sessions of the preseason and my knee just gave way when I went to change direction,” Colvin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d done the same ACL about six years ago, so I got six good years out of the first one and I did that playing netball. I think it was a factor of two seasons within a year maybe, my body wasn\u2019t quite ready for a second season. There was probably a lot of factors, it just happened to be that on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The injury gave Colvin a new perspective on footy, but it also came with some surprise positives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was obviously forced to watch the season on the sidelines,” Colvin said. “You see a lot when you\u2019re not playing and you can concentrate on the game style and the positioning of the backline and I just tried to further my knowledge of the game and figure out what I can bring to the team and how I can better myself. I think it definitely helped me see the game from a different angle so I guess that was a little bonus you could take away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully for Dees fans, her injury has not changed her game style too much,\u00a0but she has certainly had to adapt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of stayed the same but I\u2019ve found it hard to get my speed back, so I\u2019m trying to play a bit smarter and putting the body on early rather than just running around like a mad chook like I used to,” Colvin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was able to stay motivated through the rehab thanks to her team mates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was pretty lucky to have my good mate Rhi Watt<\/a> and Eliza McNamara<\/a> and a couple of the other girls in rehab,\u201d Colvin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust seeming them at every rehab session, that got me motivated and definitely kept me going, just having those girls around me. They made it so fun to be in rehab and it was nice to have a little crew, even though you don\u2019t want them to be in rehab with you, it was good to have someone by your side, you didn\u2019t have to do it all alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So that kept me motivated, and you see the likes of Sammie Johnson<\/a>, she\u2019s just had a baby and she\u2019s back on the park and then you\u2019ve got Lizey McNamara coming back from a broken back, it\u2019s those girls that keep you motivated and just all my team mates in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colvin had particular praise for Watt, who as a fellow ACL rehabber really helped Colvin through her journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt helped tremendously,\u201d Colvin said, speaking about having Watt alongside her for the rehab journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust we built a friendship and we\u2019ve figured out we\u2019re pretty much the same person and we\u2019ve got the same humour, so that helped. We gave the physio team a bit of grief with our jokes and whatnot, but just having Rhi by my side and knowing that we were in it together, I think we found motivation from that. I don\u2019t know what I would have done without her, it was a long journey and I was grateful to have her by my side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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