Back to where he belongs: Jacob Weitering addresses his return game in 2024

31/03/2024 Raymond Australian Football 0

Jacob Weitering discusses his 2024 comeback game.

“I WAS pretty shattered initially.”
Jacob Weitering had a severe calf strain on January 12; according to him, it appeared a long way off when he would play his first game following the injury.

Eleven weeks later, Weitering made his debut in Carlton colors in 2024, usually carrying out his duty with style in a significant Blue victory.
After the game, Weitering expressed his happiness at being back. Earlier in the year, he had stated he initially believed his calf tightness to be an Achilles rupture.

contrary to what his on-field demeanor may have implied, as he states.

“It was fantastic. I was probably a little bit angrier than I should’ve been, even though we were a few goals up for most of the game,” Weitering said on the post-match People’s Presser.

“Hopefully the boys liked having me back and I contributed in a way where I supported them as much as I could. You’ve got to give credit to everyone else higher up the field, they made my job a little bit easier today.”

 

Weitering claimed he had made an effort to be as involved as possible during his absence from the field, juggling his recuperation with some pre-season tutoring of Carlton’s younger defenders. But casting his mind back to the moment two months ago, Weitering admitted he “was pretty shattered initially”. 

For the reigning John Nicholls Medallist, it was a fitting opportunity to make his comeback in a game that embodies so much of the positive things that football can do off the field.

“I thought it was something worse than what it was. There’s perception, there’s the gratitude piece — you’ve got to take a step back sometimes. 

“I’ve got a really good mate in Sam Docherty, which sheds some light and a lot of perspective. [The Good Friday SuperClash] is a representation of what people are going through.

“It’s great to be part of a game like this, it’s something larger than life and larger than the game. When you start focusing on those things, rehab becomes a whole lot easier.”

Weitering finished his comeback with nine spoils, easily a game-high, two contested intercept marks, and eighteen disposals.

Weitering thought his individual performance was “solid,” but he said that he will be seeking to improve after getting more game experience.

“I probably spoiled the ball a little bit more than I should’ve, I probably could’ve marked a few.

“I just wanted to get back in and play a role, I didn’t want to take away from what ‘Gov’, ‘Boydy’, Zaccy, ‘Newy’ and the other boys were doing so far. You’ve got to give some credit to ‘Kempy’ and ‘Youngy’ in the way they held up for the first two games, we’re going to need them going forward. 

“We’ve got a deep backline, a more connected backline than previous years, we’ve certainly worked on that. It’s exciting times.”