Carlton champion Chris Judd will decide this week whether to call time on his decorated AFL career after suffering a serious knee injury in Saturday’s loss to Adelaide.
The dual Brownlow medallist was pretty sure he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament as soon as he went down in the first quarter following a marking contest with Crow Patrick Dangerfield – a prognosis later confirmed by medical staff.
“I’ve done a medial ligament before and the feeling was just a bit different to that,” the 31-year-old Judd told Channel Nine on Sunday.
“It was a really sharp pain at the start and after the first 20 seconds, not incredibly painful after that.”
Judd seriously contemplated retirement at the end of the 2014 campaign before signing a further one-year contract.
If he were to undergo a traditional knee reconstruction he would face 12 months on the sidelines.
He did not completely rule out going for a LARS reconstruction that could potentially see him return before the end of the current season – although it shapes as a highly unlikely option.
“It will be based on what the surgeon thinks is likely to deliver the best outcome, so they will be discussions I will have with him,” said Judd.
The young Blues stepped up in Judd’s absence on Saturday, hitting the front in the last quarter and threatening to claim what would only have been their second win of the season, before going down by nine points to Adelaide.
After the match, Blues caretaker coach John Barker stopped short of declaring that Judd’s playing career was over, a decision that will be left to the player.
“The main thing now is just to take a deep breath, sit down and have a chat with the club, have a chat with my family and then make a call some time this week,” said Judd.
The midfielder has played 279 matches for West Coast and Carlton since making his debut with the Eagles back in 2002.
Macca
Guest
Buzz - Yeah the fact he has a press conference this morning would indicate he will call it quits and he certainly has been a great of the club. But as you say we have some good young players and it creates an opportunity - hopefully they upgrade Fields and we get to see him at CHB, it has been great to see Graham get his chance and he has impressed laying plenty of tackles and getting clearances and it wiould be good to see Holman get an opportunity given he has been in pretty good form in the 2's as a defnsive mid.
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
There is some argument that his work at the Eagles was better than at Carlton, which makes all you say about him even more extraordinary .In 2003 against Brisbane he kicked five goals in a half.In one game against Brisbane, in 2006 he had 39 possessions(28 contested), four goals and ten clearances.Liked playing against the Lions,perhaps He kicked more goals for West Coast (138)in six seasons than in seven and a half(90) at Carlton. Still good enough to win a Brownlow with the Blues with a lot more votes in his time there,so far.115 to 84 at West Coast He was incandescent with the Eagles in a brilliant midfield (,which might explain why he gained fewer votes there) and merely electric with Carlton
The Original Buzz
Guest
I believe that we won't see Juddy on the field again for a senior team. He will be missed and will leave a huge hole in the Carlton side. I also believe we have a few players willing to step up and fill the void, so all is not lost. Some Carlton Stats for Juddy: Most in a Game: Equal 3rd for most tackles (behind Ellard and Kouta) Equal 4th for Most Inside 50s Second most Clearances (behind Ratten) 1st most contested possessions (Judd, Ratten, Kouta and Murphy make up 18 of the top 20) 1st, 2nd and equal third (with Eddie) for most goal assists Most in a season: 7th most disposals 3rd most handballs (Diesel Williams 1 & 2) 1st, 6th, 8th most tackles in a season 2nd most Inside 50's (behind Campo) 3rd most clearances (Ratten 1 and 2) 2nd, 7th and 9th most contested possessions (again, Judd, Ratten, Kouta and Murphy make up 17 of the top 20) 1st and 5th for goal assists (Eddie Betts taking 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th) This is the position that Carlton needs to fill. He was a pillar of both the Eagles and the Blues teams and will be sorely missed by the Club and fans alike.