AJ ruptured ACL ?

[Nico]

its funny Nico

a few good mates of mine who played alot of high standard footy didnt rate AJ the first half of his first season.

They were all midfielders BTW

I personally thought AJ had one of the more difficult jobs besides marking Buddy week in week out

They thought AJ looked stoooped over in body language and not owning his opponent and was making some seriously average kicking options out of the backline

I personally thought AJ had a very difficult task of going from talls to smalls to medium height players and did it fairly well and was always confident that he would kick on despite some of his kicking options being a bit ordinary

I feel the same about Rampe........he is a competitor just like AJ and those guys create their own path !

A lot of observers do not look at the little things players do. AJ did a few poor turnovers and I remember at the MCG one day he ran into goals and kicked a grubber. But his marking of players and closing them down and his ability to read the ball coming into the backline is very good. He also combines well with his fellow backmen to form the best backline in the comp. He plays his role extremely well. One of his strengths is his ability to run to space on the HBF, unmarked, for the pass out of the backline. No club seemed to wake up to that last season. His game against St Kilda in the final in 2011 was pretty good.

Midfielders might get a stack of possessions but their errors tend to get overlooked due to the sheer number of stats they get.

[RogueSwan]

True, but Hanners didn't play anywhere near the games as AJ in his first season.

Possibly because he was only 18 in his first year, AJ was 19. Hanners played 21 games as a 19yo compared to AJ's 20.
Nice argument to have, how great are our youngsters?

[Triple B]

Considering how gutted he must be, that's a pretty classy interview with AJ....

AJ Interview

[liz]

Possibly because he was only 18 in his first year, AJ was 19. Hanners played 21 games as a 19yo compared to AJ's 20.
Nice argument to have, how great are our youngsters?

Not only was he still 18, he spent most of the year living in Melbourne studying for his VCE. It was remarkable that he cracked into the senior team late in the season - and kept his spot.

[Auntie.Gerald]

i suppose its like comparing Mike's top50 and seeing Teddy at almost no50 and Kennedy at no5

who do you pick as the most important player ?

how the hell does he have the above two so far apart ?

[Swansongster]

Considering how gutted he must be, that's a pretty classy interview with AJ....

AJ Interview

A class act. Godspeed with the recovery.

[Untamed Snark]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/injured-sydney-swans-defender-alex-johnson-is-considering-lars-surgery/story-e6frexx0-1226595022498

Glad he has Mal to talk it over with, if anyone can give you an honest idea of the pros & cons it is Malceski

[jono2707]

I feel he should go down the standard reco route - I dunno why, but I think there are probably a few unknowns with the bionic knee thingies, and people tend to go for them when there is a bit of desperation. AJ is young and he has a fine career ahead of him so I'd like to see him get this right.....

[kangle4]

I think the main thing Johnson may be weighing up is that we are in a great position to win another Premiership this season. There's no guarantee we will be in the same position again later in his career.

[Ludwig]

There are many variations to both traditional and LARS procedures. These not only include the type and method of 'harvesting' one's own tissue (patella or hamstring tendons), but also how the new ligament bundle is constructed. Further to this, there are a variety of drill hole placements and attachment techniques. Some are drilled with the knee straight and some are done with knee flexed at various angles. There are procedures that are called anatomical, as they try to replicate the natural positioning of the ACL fixation points. There are even Double Bundles, which have 2 ligament bundles, which could be LARS bundles, drilled though 2 different passageways that meet at the ACL joint and eventually fuse together.

There is a lot more to how successful the surgery will be than just a choice between traditional and LARS procedures. A lot has to the do with the preferences and competency of the surgeon.

Luke Ball is still having hamstring tendinitis from his traditional surgery. There are some other things that can go wrong from the 'harvesting' process during recovery from traditional ACLs.

What kind of surgery Alex has will most likely come down to the surgeon he consults, as he is almost certain to take the surgeon's advice. I think the Swans are on top of who is good and who is not in this game, and am optimistic about a good recovery and successful career for Alex, who I think will be the mainstay of our defence in a few years time.

[DamY]

AJ ruptured ACL ?

Thank you for your in depth post about ACL stuff, very eye opening!

[Big Al]

Re: AJ ruptured ACL ?

Thank you for your in depth post about ACL stuff, very eye opening!

+1 From someone who thought for a long time that an ACL was just A Corked Leg the info is appreciated.

[grarmy]

Highly informative post. Proves once again that this site provides a true channel for the highly intelligent and deep thinking supporter base.

[ScottH]

Apparently he is going down the LARS path. According to a lady who was at the L@SS function, who spoke to Malceski about it.

[Swansongster]

Apparently he is going down the LARS path. According to a lady who was at the L@SS function, who spoke to Malceski about it.

I would prefer that such a young fella go down the traditional path but, hey, I am not a surgeon (except for the occasional splinter) and there is the fact that windows of premiership opportunity are not always as open as ours is at present.

I'll back the decision that AJ makes. I am sure that our meds will ensure he gets all the info needed to make the right one.