Saints co-captain Luke Ball
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LUKE Ball’s best on ground performance against
Hawthorn has prompted a ‘told you so’ from Ross Lyon, who has insisted that the
Saints’ star has not been hampered by osteititis pubis this season.
Lyon attracted criticism after Ball admitted publicly that the
debilitating condition had been an ongoing issue for him this year, but after
Saturday’s match the Saints’ coach was keen to set the record straight.
“I put the facts on the table and it’s how
you want to interpret the facts, really,” Lyon
told reporters.
“I’m not being disparaging and I know there
is a view that I was hiding something, but I really wasn’t.
“Sure, Luke’s had OP in the past … so there
is some ongoing [management of the condition]. You’re always managing and
looking at his loads and the amount of kicking he does very carefully. But what
I said is, ‘Is he injured with OP this year? No’. I hope that clears it up.”
Ball has rebounded strongly in the past
fortnight after struggling for much of the season, and Lyon
felt vindicated by the 31-possession, three-goal performance he turned in at
Telstra Dome.
“I think it helps … my case,” he said,
“because clearly he’s capable of playing elite footy. Has his body changed in
two weeks? I’m telling you, no. Do you believe me? I don’t know.
“I wasn’t hiding him [earlier in the
season]. I put him on Daniel Kerr, arguably the best midfielder in the
competition on the biggest ground in Australia. Do you think I’d do that
if I didn’t think he could run? Logic says no.
“And then I put him on Scott Burns at the
MCG in a big game. Do you think I would do that if Luke Ball couldn’t run? I’m
saying no.”
Lyon drew parallels between osteitis pubis and clinical depression in an
effort to further clarify the situation.
“That OP term, it’s hard to get a really
good analogy to explain it, but … the one I was thinking about is depression,”
he said.
“Depression comes and goes so once you’ve
had it. It’s always there in the background.
“That’s what Luke wanted me to say during
the week: ‘Yes I have had it in the past. Do we always consider my load and my
management? Yes. Am I injured with OP at the minute? No.
“Its like has he currently got depression? No,
but is it a chance, if you don’t manage yourself correctly, to come back? Yes.
“Is that confusing? Is that clear?”
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