CAST your mind back to round nine, 2011.
A Demon made his AFL debut, collecting 27 disposals.
If you thought it was Jeremy Howe, Sam Blease or Luke Tapscott - who all made their debut last year and loom as long term prospects for the Demons - you’d be wrong.
Instead, remember Michael Evans (aka Pickles)?
(Pickles was a nickname given to him by his Mum when he was young, which was reinstated at Melbourne by fellow Western Australian and teammate Cale Morton, who he went to school with).
Well, he was the promoted rookie who played his first AFL match against the Saints and had the second most team disposals, behind only leader Nathan Jones.
But by the end of round 17 last season, and after four matches under his belt, Evans’ season was over. A back injury curtailed his year and interrupted much of his 2012 season, as did his problematic hips.
Fast forward to July 14 and the now defunct AFL venue - but still VFL ground -Windy Hill, where Evans made his return to football, playing his first match of any sorts since July 17 last year.
In fact, Evans’ most recent match before last weekend was when he played in Casey’s 77-point win over Frankston at Frankston Oval in round 16, 2011. Evans shone that day and was second to only former Scorpion Brendan Fevola, who kicked 11 goals, as Casey’s best.
This time around, it was beanpole ruckman Jake Spencer who proved the goal kicking hero, when he sealed the victory against Bendigo Bombers. Evans booted two goals and had 18 disposals in his comeback - a fine effort, considering it was almost a year to the day out of the game.
For the recently turned 20 year-old - his birthday was on July 13 (the same day as coach Mark Neeld and the day before his comeback) - Evans said it was simply “very, very good fun” to play again.
“It was the simplest way to put it. The way we won the game and the way we played, it was good,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“To be able to play again after that time and experience a win was the best part. It was great to get through one game and have confidence in your body, but the win was good fun.
“All of the coaches told me to go out and enjoy it, because I hadn’t done it for so long. I ran around and found the footy again and kicked a couple of goals, which was always nice.”
Importantly, Evans said his back and hips had pulled up well after his first match.
“That was the main thing I wanted to get out of the game,” he said.
“My hip was a little sore and that was more than expected. I’m about 16 or 17 weeks post-surgery, so there was always going to be a little bit of soreness when you ramp up.
“But I’ve got an extra week off in the VFL this week, so it’s good to have an extra week of recovery to get it right for the next game.”
Evans conceded the past 12 months had been a testing period.
“The frustration of effectively working through four injuries and two surgeries was hard to deal with at times. But at the end of the day, [I] just had to get back on the horse and get through the rehab and work as hard as I could,” he said.
“It wasn’t so much like someone like Gawny (Max Gawn), who had done a knee and he knew he was out for pretty much a year.
“My injury was in 10 to 12 week blocks and then I’d get a setback at the end of that.”
The midfielder, who was selected at No. 31 in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft held in December 2010, sounded out leaders Jack Grimes, Clint Bartram and Col Garland, who had all overcome long term injuries, for inspiration.
“I spoke to Grimesy early on about how he dealt with his injuries mentally, and it makes you appreciate footy a little bit more,” he said.
“It gives you a better grounding for what you have to do to get your body right.”
A Demon made his AFL debut, collecting 27 disposals.
If you thought it was Jeremy Howe, Sam Blease or Luke Tapscott - who all made their debut last year and loom as long term prospects for the Demons - you’d be wrong.
Instead, remember Michael Evans (aka Pickles)?
(Pickles was a nickname given to him by his Mum when he was young, which was reinstated at Melbourne by fellow Western Australian and teammate Cale Morton, who he went to school with).
Well, he was the promoted rookie who played his first AFL match against the Saints and had the second most team disposals, behind only leader Nathan Jones.
But by the end of round 17 last season, and after four matches under his belt, Evans’ season was over. A back injury curtailed his year and interrupted much of his 2012 season, as did his problematic hips.
Fast forward to July 14 and the now defunct AFL venue - but still VFL ground -Windy Hill, where Evans made his return to football, playing his first match of any sorts since July 17 last year.
In fact, Evans’ most recent match before last weekend was when he played in Casey’s 77-point win over Frankston at Frankston Oval in round 16, 2011. Evans shone that day and was second to only former Scorpion Brendan Fevola, who kicked 11 goals, as Casey’s best.
This time around, it was beanpole ruckman Jake Spencer who proved the goal kicking hero, when he sealed the victory against Bendigo Bombers. Evans booted two goals and had 18 disposals in his comeback - a fine effort, considering it was almost a year to the day out of the game.
For the recently turned 20 year-old - his birthday was on July 13 (the same day as coach Mark Neeld and the day before his comeback) - Evans said it was simply “very, very good fun” to play again.
“It was the simplest way to put it. The way we won the game and the way we played, it was good,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“To be able to play again after that time and experience a win was the best part. It was great to get through one game and have confidence in your body, but the win was good fun.
“All of the coaches told me to go out and enjoy it, because I hadn’t done it for so long. I ran around and found the footy again and kicked a couple of goals, which was always nice.”
Importantly, Evans said his back and hips had pulled up well after his first match.
“That was the main thing I wanted to get out of the game,” he said.
“My hip was a little sore and that was more than expected. I’m about 16 or 17 weeks post-surgery, so there was always going to be a little bit of soreness when you ramp up.
“But I’ve got an extra week off in the VFL this week, so it’s good to have an extra week of recovery to get it right for the next game.”
Evans conceded the past 12 months had been a testing period.
“The frustration of effectively working through four injuries and two surgeries was hard to deal with at times. But at the end of the day, [I] just had to get back on the horse and get through the rehab and work as hard as I could,” he said.
“It wasn’t so much like someone like Gawny (Max Gawn), who had done a knee and he knew he was out for pretty much a year.
“My injury was in 10 to 12 week blocks and then I’d get a setback at the end of that.”
The midfielder, who was selected at No. 31 in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft held in December 2010, sounded out leaders Jack Grimes, Clint Bartram and Col Garland, who had all overcome long term injuries, for inspiration.
“I spoke to Grimesy early on about how he dealt with his injuries mentally, and it makes you appreciate footy a little bit more,” he said.
“It gives you a better grounding for what you have to do to get your body right.”
Before his back injury halted his 2011, Evans was set to have post-season surgery on his right hip. But he said the plans changed.
“Last year in July, I had a stress fracture in my back on my right side. I was always going to have surgery on the right side of my hip at the end of the year, but it was just depending when my year finished. So we got the surgery done then, and it recovered well,” he said.
“I then got a week away from training in December and the left side of my back flared up and we tried to manage that properly. But it progressively got worse and it turned into a stress fracture.
“I was going to miss another four months with my back, so they had a look at my left hip as well and decided to get that done. We left no stone unturned, so I had the hip done in March on the eve of round one. It was very untimely, but I got that done and now here I am.”
Evans said he also sought advice from the Australian cricket medicos about his back/hip injuries.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of the Australian cricket physios and doctors, who have deal with those [injuries] a lot more - [fast bowler] James Pattinson had a similar thing,” he said.
“It’ll probably flare up a bit for the next year or so every now and then, but certainly nothing to what I’ve had.
“It’s very much a management thing and there are a couple of things they can do for it, if it does flare up. At the moment, the way I’m feeling, I’ll get through the season and set myself for a big pre-season.”
Now that he is back playing, Evans is eager to help Casey with its finals campaign in the VFL and pinch a game or two in the AFL by the season’s end.
“I need to see how my body goes with the weekly training, but my focus at the moment is to get through the first two or three weeks consistently,” he said.
“There are seven or eight weeks left in the AFL, so there is no doubt that I’m aiming to get back into the AFL side. But if that doesn’t happen, then I’m pretty keen to help Casey in the finals, because we’re on top of the ladder at the moment and we should definitely be there come finals time.
“Casey finals would be great for me, but if I can play one or two AFL games that would be a massive bonus.”
Evans said if he hadn’t tasted the highest level last year, it could’ve made this year harder.
“Chris Connolly said at one point in my rehab that at least you’re an AFL player and you’ve got a taste for it, so you know what it is like,” he said.
“If I had these injuries in my first year then I wouldn’t have played a game in my second and I wouldn’t have known what it was all about.
“At least I can hold onto that and get back as soon as possible, and hopefully run out on the MCG.”
And given what he has endured in the past year, no one would begrudge him that wish.
“Last year in July, I had a stress fracture in my back on my right side. I was always going to have surgery on the right side of my hip at the end of the year, but it was just depending when my year finished. So we got the surgery done then, and it recovered well,” he said.
“I then got a week away from training in December and the left side of my back flared up and we tried to manage that properly. But it progressively got worse and it turned into a stress fracture.
“I was going to miss another four months with my back, so they had a look at my left hip as well and decided to get that done. We left no stone unturned, so I had the hip done in March on the eve of round one. It was very untimely, but I got that done and now here I am.”
Evans said he also sought advice from the Australian cricket medicos about his back/hip injuries.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of the Australian cricket physios and doctors, who have deal with those [injuries] a lot more - [fast bowler] James Pattinson had a similar thing,” he said.
“It’ll probably flare up a bit for the next year or so every now and then, but certainly nothing to what I’ve had.
“It’s very much a management thing and there are a couple of things they can do for it, if it does flare up. At the moment, the way I’m feeling, I’ll get through the season and set myself for a big pre-season.”
Now that he is back playing, Evans is eager to help Casey with its finals campaign in the VFL and pinch a game or two in the AFL by the season’s end.
“I need to see how my body goes with the weekly training, but my focus at the moment is to get through the first two or three weeks consistently,” he said.
“There are seven or eight weeks left in the AFL, so there is no doubt that I’m aiming to get back into the AFL side. But if that doesn’t happen, then I’m pretty keen to help Casey in the finals, because we’re on top of the ladder at the moment and we should definitely be there come finals time.
“Casey finals would be great for me, but if I can play one or two AFL games that would be a massive bonus.”
Evans said if he hadn’t tasted the highest level last year, it could’ve made this year harder.
“Chris Connolly said at one point in my rehab that at least you’re an AFL player and you’ve got a taste for it, so you know what it is like,” he said.
“If I had these injuries in my first year then I wouldn’t have played a game in my second and I wouldn’t have known what it was all about.
“At least I can hold onto that and get back as soon as possible, and hopefully run out on the MCG.”
And given what he has endured in the past year, no one would begrudge him that wish.
