WARRACK Eagles recruit Shane Hutchinson is shattered that his Wimmera Football League debut season lasted just three quarters.
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Hutchinson, 26, was forced from the ground during the third quarter of the Eagles' round one win against Dimboola after a tackle from Roos midfielder Clancy Bennett.
Hutchinson said the initial tackle did not do all of the damage, with his knee going during a subsequent training session at Ballarat.
"In the tackle I think it was just partially torn," Hutchinson said. "Then three weeks later at training it completely went when I was just going for a run."
Hutchinson had been one of the Eagles' best players in the win, racking up possessions through the midfield, until he went off.
He had a full knee reconstruction last Wednesday to repair cartilage damage and a completely torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Hutchinson will be sidelined for 12 months and will have to complete exhaustive rehabilitation.
He was shocked when told the extent of the damage.
"When I came off against Dimboola my knee was still stable and it wasn't too floppy, so I thought I might have got away with only a little bit of damage," he said.
He said he would like to return to the Warrack Eagles next season, but at this stage his primary focus would be to get the injury right.
"It is more than likely that I will be back with Warrack Eagles next season," he said.
"But I just have to get myself right, and it is more about that than worrying about football at the moment. I am a physical education teacher so I need to get it right for work."
Hutchinson said he was looking for positives from the injury and was keen to play a greater role off the field.
He said he would work with the Eagles' midfielders on game days, and would draw on his experience from being an assistant coach at East Point in the Ballarat Football League.
Hutchinson has also played with North Ballarat in the VFL and South Adelaide in the SANFL.
Warrack Eagles coach Harvey Lang said they could draw a minor positive out of the loss of Hutchinson.
"Like I said to the fellas it is lucky we weren't used to him, so we didn't find out how good he was," Lang said.
Hutchinson said he was surprised at the standard of Wimmera league in his brief foray into the competition.
"It was good footy, it was a lot better than what I had expected," he said.
"I was actually really looking forward to the year."
