Collingwood premiership star Jeremy Howe is no stranger to football injuries, but his three broken ribs on grand final day ranks as his most tolerable setback yet.
At the start of the season, Howe suffered a horrific broken arm, which after surgery became infected, putting the rest of his season in jeopardy.
After a mid-year return, Howe went on to play a major role in Collingwood’s 16th premiership, with a four point victory over Brisbane.
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But the result wasn’t the only thing on edge in the final quarter, with Howe copping a late bump from Lion Charlie Cameron early in the last quarter, which broke three of his ribs.
“The incident late with Charlie (Cameron), I kind of thought I was out and I went to kick it and he managed to hit me relatively late,” Howe told Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“It was probably in the play, but I got a down field free kick.
“The ribs are incredibly sore – but I think if we lost they’d be sorer.”
Howe managed to play out the rest of the quarter and receive his premiership medal, collecting a game-changing nine disposals in the last term.
“(It’s) something I can tolerate, I’ve got six months to get them right. I can tolerate the pain for now,” Howe said.
“I’ve bounced out of bed regardless, so, good feeling.”
Howe stood tall alongside Magpies veteran Scott Pendlebury collecting 24 disposals for the match.
As for the Magpies’ turnaround from a 17th-placed finish in 2021 to a premiership two seasons later, Howe lauded coach Craig McRae’s rejuvenation of the club.
“It almost feels like a country footy club. There’s always kids running around inside the facility, you could almost open up a daycare,” Howe said.
“It’s a really light-hearted feel amongst the group. Our relationships are through the roof, Fly’s (McRae) been huge in that space.
“It’s just a great place to be at. We always try to bring the fans along for the ride and we’ve been trying to do that for the last two years and they certainly get on board.”