Essendon star Nic Martin shares positive outlook as scans confirm shattering knee injury

7NEWS

3 days ago

Essendon star Nic Martin is channelling Brisbane gun Will Ashcroft as he faces 12 months on the sidelines.
The prolific ballwinner ruptured the ACL in his right knee after landing awkwardly in the nine-point loss to Richmond on Saturday night.
Martin became the fourth Bombers player to injure their ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards.
He becomes the ninth first-choice Essendon player currently sidelined, alongside Bryan, Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones, and Zach Reid.
Speaking to 7NEWS on Sunday morning, Martin already had a positive mindset and will be using Ashcroft as his inspiration.
The young Lion ruptured his ACL in his debut season before returning 12 months later and going on to win the Norm Smith Medal in last year's grand final.
'A bit flat, but it is what it is. I wrapped my head around it and just moved on,' Martin said.
'I sort of just got Will Ashcroft in my head a bit, you know, how quickly he returned and found form straight away.
'So all you can do is take one day at a time and just get better and all I'm after, is the opportunity to get better.'
Martin praised his teammates for the support, which has become an ongoing theme given the serious injuries the club have experienced this year.
'It's so humbling. The love and support from the boys, but unfortunately they've had a bit of practice with it this year,' he said.
'But, you know, I felt so loved and cared for, so I really appreciate all the support from the boys.
'I guess in times of adversity, you build a bit of resilience. So as tough as it is, I'm really optimistic about what we can build post this.
'The adversity boys will face will suit them for the long term.'
Coach Brad Scott was left to lament the latest blow when speaking to media after the match.
'It's not just the players that aren't there, it's the players that come in,' Scott said.
'They've never played together, and it ends up looking ... a complete lack of synergy and connection.
'Rookie players making rookie errors, which is understandable.
'Nic Martin's almost certainly done his ACL so that just sends a shiver down everyone's spine at quarter-time when that word sort of ripples out.
'These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up, it's going to be a real challenge to keep everyone's morale up, but that's the job of our leaders.
'Martin's a unique player and really important to the way that we play.
'I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you're talking about half of the team, you've just got to accept that the synergy's not going to be there.'
After slumping to a sixth-straight loss, Essendon (6-10) have just five days to prepare to host rampaging GWS at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
The Giants dominated premiership contenders Geelong on Saturday, just hours before Essendon's 'comedy of errors' contest against Richmond.
After booting 3.0 in the first quarter, the Bombers incredibly added only 1.13 for the rest of the match to go down against a team who were tipped by some pundits pre-season not to win a game.
Despite missing a host of key players, Scott opted to drop forwards Archie Perkins and Jade Gresham to face the Tigers.
'Perk's a really capable, competitive, contested type player, and he's just been a bit hesitant over the last month or so' Scott said.
'Doing him no favours, just pushing him out.
'We tried positional changes, a few different things for him, but he just needed a reset to go back and compete at VFL level before he comes back in.'
Perkins collected 21 possessions in Essendon's VFL loss against Box Hill on Saturday, while Gresham didn't play.