AFL
1 year ago
Nathan Buckley's advice for Adam Cerra and Carlton as hamstring issues derail 2024 season
By Nic Negrepontis
Adam Cerra has now suffered five hamstring injuries in 12 months, with the Blues midfielder coming from the ground once again in the side’s narrow loss to Collingwood.
The 24-year-old was leading Carlton’s best and fairest award in 2023 before suffering the first hamstring in Round 19, which would prove to be the beginning of a frustrating 12 months.
Nathan Buckley believes the situation now resembles Darcy Moore’s 2018 season, where he and the Magpies ultimately refused to select him for the Grand Final due to his ongoing hamstring injuries.
“I went through this in 2007 when I was towards the end (of my career). It’s difficult. With recurring hamstrings, you almost need to go back and start again and build yourself up from the bottom,” Buckley told SEN Breakfast.
“I mean, Adam Cerra is not in the end-stages of his career like I was. He’s still a young man and still has plenty of growth in him and has two-thirds of his career ahead of him.
“It’s unlikely that you’d see him again (in 2024). He probably doesn’t have the time to prove that he’s going to be able to stand up.
“You don’t really want to take a risk with a player that you think you’re going to lose during the game.
“Darcy Moore played six games in 2018, but didn’t finish three of them. He trained the house down going into the Grand Final, but we really couldn’t select him based on the year.
“In the end, Carlton will go through that, but if a player is injured you can’t select him. They don’t have a lack of personnel to go through the midfield.
“I like Cerra as a player. I think he’s a really good decision maker. He wins his own ball and puts teammates into space and he’ll be missed.
“I think we’re probably seeing that he’s been effected by not being able to train and prepare as he normally would in the last six to eight weeks and injury is an understandable reason for that.”
The Blues moved Cerra to the half back flank to cover for his struggles in form as he dealt with the ongoing hamstring headaches.
Carlton will have to move on quickly, playing the red-hot Hawks this weekend in a match that could decide who plays finals.
