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Find your frequency hereHigh performance expert outlines the silver lining for Jagga Smith following torn ACL
Nic Negrepontis • February 24th, 2025 10:41 am
Former Carlton head of high performance Andrew Russell has outlined the silver lining for draftee Jagga Smith, who tore his ACL on the weekend.
Smith was the Blues’ big acquisition off the summer, essentially cashing in their entire trade and draft capital to land him at pick three. Now, he will miss the entire 2025 season.
Russell believes this will give the teenager a chance to truly adapt to an AFL lifestyle, learn what’s required physically and build his body back up.
“I think there’s huge opportunities in some of these young players coming in who get a serious injury because I think an athlete doesn’t truly understand what’s required to prepare to play at the highest level until they really understand their body,” Russell told SEN Breakfast.
“They learn so much in such a short period of time and they get to really condition their bodies really well and go back to basics, set the foundation and then build up slowly.
“It’s something that’s a real challenge … ramping up young players coming into the season and then playing and training with men in a short period of time, it’s a big change in stress on young athletes’ bodies.”
Carlton initially wasn’t overly concerned about the situation, telling reporters post game that Smith was kept off the ground for precautionary reasons and would be assessed for a knee knock.
Smith was seen running, changing direction and jumping on the sidelines following the injury.
Russell spoke to how such a significant injury can slip through the cracks initially.
“I think initially when a player gets injured like that, you look at the vision and you’re weighing up the vision with when they come off the ground the doctor and the physio can do some very quick tests,” he said.
“Now, sometimes those tests are really easy to determine what injury they’ve got and sometimes they’re inconclusive and they’re very challenging.
“The medicos are under huge pressure to get these decisions right and get it right very quickly and often they’re listening to the player’s story when they come off.
“Both those ACLs that happened on the weekend in a contest situation and there is a lot happening in a really short space of time and huge forces at play.
“Often you won’t know until after the game and look at the scan and match that with the vision and go right, this is the complete picture.”
Smith can look to the likes of Will Ashcroft and Christian Petracca as top draftees who tore their ACL in their first season and managed to bounce back and become stars.
Carlton likely won’t have the opportunity to replace Smith until the mid-season draft, with the supplementary selection period closing before their practice game.
