Barwon Heads is preparing for life without Sam Christensen for the remainder of the season after confirmation that a knee injury suffered during the opening quarter of Saturday’s loss to Torquay is a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Seagulls co-coach Damian McMahon says Christensen’s knee buckled after landing following a marking contest early in the first quarter at APCO Cafe 24/7 Oval.
“The poor fella just can’t get a good run at it; we’re shattered for him,” McMahon said.
“Sammy felt his knee pop out, so we were praying that it was just a dislocated knee.
“He’s gone and seen (physio) Justin Edwards yesterday and then got a scan and, unfortunately, it’s the worst (case).”
Christensen joined Barwon Heads from GFNL club St Mary’s during the off-season.
At the Saints, he played 51 senior games, but was dropped for last year’s grand final win over St Joseph’s.
Instead, Christensen put his disappointment behind him to produce a best-on-ground performance in the reserve grade decider.
He was lured to Barwin Heads by McMahon as a key defender – a role the 5-2 Seagulls will again have to look to fill.
“We knew we had depth, and we were hoping we wouldn’t have to test it this much this early,” McMahon said.
“But, we’ll have to put our thinking caps on. He’ll be hard to replace.
“But again, it’ll be a team effort. It won’t be an individual, that’s for sure.
“We’ll embrace that challenge and see what we come up with.”
Christensen’s injury started a mixed afternoon for Barwon Heads.
The Seagulls fought back from 34 points down at half-time to cut the margin to five points at three-quarter time.
However, Torquay outscored the home team five goals to one in the final term to retain the Battle of the Breaks surfboard with a 30-point victory.
“They’re obviously a quality outfit, and really well drilled by Dom (Gleeson) and everyone down there,” McMahon said.
We were probably at that 85% execution rate, around what we wanted to do.
We had moments when we nailed it, but we’re still learning, and they showed us that anytime that isn’t up to scratch, they’ll make it count.
“A few of their bigger boys got on the end of it in the end from their good work up the ground.
“The third quarter, it was pleasing to come back from 30-odd points down at one stage.
“We’re obviously disappointed, but we’ve taken some good things out of it for sure.”
Barwon Heads hits the road for just the second time this year when it meets Surf Coast at Summertime Pools Oval.
The experienced Kyle Polley (back) will remain sidelined, but James Syddall, Ben O’Sullivan, and Kallum Hinchcliffe are a chance to take on the competition’s newcomer.
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