Retiring Western Bulldogs forward Jack Redpath has opened up on how the mental toll of constant injuries led to his premature retirement.
The 27-year-old Redpath played just 36 games in five seasons for the Dogs, but was named in the 2018 leadership group, highlighting how valued he was around the club.
Redpath says the numerous physical setbacks started to pile up from a mental perspective, which he could no longer deal with.
“It’s obviously been pretty hard from the minute I got there, I probably wasn’t ready to play AFL,” Redpath told SEN Breakfast.
“I had come off playing a bit of local footy and I had come off two knee reco’s. My first season, I only played eight games at Kyneton, then the hips get a bit sore, I had a shoulder reco.
“It does take a toll. I think this year to be honest, it was probably more mentally, I just wasn’t handling the setbacks.
“I had taken a few hits and they started to hurt a little bit more mentally.
“That was a big part of the decision that I thought if I tried to go again and I had kept having setbacks, I might not have handled it, and I might have ended up a bit more mentally battling than I had in the past with injuries.”
Listen to Jack Redpath’s chat with Garry Lyon, Tim Watson and Bob Murphy on SEN Breakfast in the player below