Nathan Grima says retired players must be careful when lashing out at clubs long after their AFL career is over.
The former North Melbourne defender was forced to retire prematurely in 2015 due to a chronic back problem which required three bouts of surgery.
Grima managed to return for one season with Essendon as a top-up player in 2016, but his career at the elite level was over earlier than expected.
It has emerged that Ty Zantuck has launched a damages claim after he was allegedly injected 50 times while at Richmond between 2001 and 2003, but Grima feels it is dangerous territory to solely blame the club.
“I came out with three back operations and chronic back pain, but would I do it all again? In a heartbeat,” the new Sturt coach said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“If I didn’t want to put myself at risk of doing that, I would have done an office job.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
“It’s a weird sport, I guess, because you do it at the front end of your life and achieve everything you’ve set out to by the time you are 30 so I think that’s why a lot of guys get to the back end and feel empty as to what comes next.
“They start feeling pity on things that have happened.
“I think you’ve got be careful coming out the back end. You are around good doctors, and managed as best you can. It’s a contact sport, there’s going to be injuries.
“It’s not the complete fault of the club, you are putting yourself out there like other sports.
“I would never go back at North. I still get best medical care if I need to, and for my wife and kids.
“I can see a club doctor from Essendon or North at any time. They genuinely care so much about you.”
Grima, who played a total of 88 AFL games for the Roos and Dons, said he always had a choice whether or not he received a painkilling injection.
“I got jabbed to play games I shouldn’t have played but it wasn’t the club wanting to do it, it was me as a player wanting to play as many games I could,” he added.
“If they gave me the option to play, even it was 50-50, if you are a competitor you want to get out there.
“Just don’t do it if you don’t want to do it. There’s no shame in not wanting to do it (get jabbed).
“I think it’s getting a bit of a trend for players to come out of the woodwork.”
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