Hardman Hargrave

[southerncross]

Just found this


Hardman Hargrave


RYAN Hargrave tells a story about pulling staples out of his stomach using scissors while on a boat.
It is cringeworthy and slightly mad but, in a way, it sums up the under-rated Western Bulldogs defender. If you want to talk about toughness and defying the pain barrier, Hargrave is your man.
"I was having a few beers with mates just a couple of weeks after the operation and we were on a boat heading to Rottnest Island," he explains.
"I had staples in my stomach and when I started to get sea-sick the staples were rubbing, so I got some scissors and took them out."
The operation he was talking about was major surgery to remove an abscess the size of an orange from his bowel and have half-a-litre of puss drained from his abdomen.
This all happened in his first year at Whitten Oval in 2000. He knew he was very sick but a string of doctors couldn't find the problem, so he kept battling along until he suffered blood poisoning and was taken to hospital.
Fast-forward to May 2006 and Hargrave's ankle is wrecked. The surgeon says he needs to have an operation but he knows if he does that it could jeopardise his chances of playing finals footy.
So, instead of following medical advice, for the next 20 weeks he has several pain-killing injections into the ankle before each game. He is lucky if he gets to train once during the week as the ankle blows up like a balloon the day after a game.
"I wanted to play finals footy that bad," Hargrave said. "We'd obviously struggled over the last few years, so I didn't want to risk not playing finals."
Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade is very much an admirer. "He played the whole season last year with a buggered ankle and it was really severe," Eade said. "The surgeon after the operation said he couldn't believe he even played one game with it, let alone the season.
"I mean, he had to have a complete ankle reconstruction at the end of the season and yet there he was out there playing on bigger blokes and fighting out of his weight division."
The cliche "don't judge a book by its cover" couldn't be more appropriate for Hargrave.
He is stick-thin, not overly tall - 1cm taller than Chris Judd - and looks more like a surfer (a pursuit he also loves) than a key position defender.
His nickname is "Shaggy" because of his similarity to the main character from the kids' cartoon series Scooby-Doo.
"He is a very laid-back individual," Eade said. "He doesn't say a lot and gives the impression he doesn't care sometimes, but he really does."
Hargrave admits there are definitely two sides to his personality with the off-field persona frustrating many, particularly his girlfriend.
"I get told a lot by my girlfriend that I'm really lazy," he said. "I do get really excited when I play football because I love doing it so I get a bit pumped up.
"I've always sort of had a bit of white-line fever and the opposite to that is I've always been told I am sort of lazy and laid-back off the field.
"I suppose it helps you stay a bit calmer under pressure situations and given I play down back it can get a bit stressful at times."
Hargrave came to Whitten Oval as a forward at No. 66 in the 1999 national draft. He was one of seven players drafted out of the Perth colts team.
Eade says the 25-year-old, who played his 100th game last week against the Eagles in Perth, has the respect of everyone at the Bulldogs because of the way he fights against the odds every week.

[LostDoggy]

He is such a good player, playing with that ankle injury for the majority of last season with a few painkilling injections before the games just so he could get to play finals is inspiring.

[alwaysadog]

Born of a Bulldog player who bred true. A top bloke and a determined footballer, who will get even better if a few talls come through.

[dog town]

He is such a good player, playing with that ankle injury for the majority of last season with a few painkilling injections before the games just so he could get to play finals is inspiring.

Agreed and it is impossible for us to know when someone is battling along like that. My mate did a similar thing last year at my club and he was pretty much useless because of it. Couldn't train during the week and lost all his acceleration. Massive effort from Hargrave especially for a guy who relies on his closing speed.

[GVGjr]

Agreed and it is impossible for us to know when someone is battling along like that. My mate did a similar thing last year at my club and he was pretty much useless because of it. Couldn't train during the week and lost all his acceleration. Massive effort from Hargrave especially for a guy who relies on his closing speed.

He really is an impressive runner and his ability to read the play and get off this opponent is often underrated in my opinion.

[dog town]

He really is an impressive runner and his ability to read the play and get off this opponent is often underrated in my opinion.

No doubt. I think his performance on Franklin was massively underrated. Franklin had 2 goals and 4 touches on Wight after 3 or 4 minutes but Hargrave went onto him and IMO changed the flow of the match just with clever running off and an aggressive approach. Franklin had 6 touches for the rest of the game and he might have got 4 or 5 goals but it was a win for us IMO from the way Franklin started the game. Hargrave and his run pretty much got us rolling in that game.

[southerncross]

No doubt. I think his performance on Franklin was massively underrated. Franklin had 2 goals and 4 touches on Wight after 3 or 4 minutes but Hargrave went onto him and IMO changed the flow of the match just with clever running off and an aggressive approach. Franklin had 6 touches for the rest of the game and he might have got 4 or 5 goals but it was a win for us IMO from the way Franklin started the game. Hargrave and his run pretty much got us rolling in that game.

Do you think it's just his laconic style that people underrate ? I think he is a more intelligent footballer than many give him credit for.

[dog town]

Do you think it's just his laconic style that people underrate ? I think he is a more intelligent footballer than many give him credit for.

A combination of that and the fact that he is an athletic type player. A much smarter football than people think. A few of our defenders are pretty underrated. If we were more of a flooding type team or got more numbers back in defence then a few more of our guys would be considered better players than what they currently are. As it is they are generally one out with their opponent and with plenty of open space around them.

[Dry Rot]

If we transplanted Hargrave's heart into McDougall we'd have another Jon Brown.

[Go_Dogs]

If we transplanted Hargrave's heart into McDougall we'd have another Jon Brown.

It seems quite a few have already given up on McDougall.

[GVGjr]

It seems quite a few have already given up on McDougall.

I haven't. I still hold high hopes for McDougall and think he will be come a good player for us probably next season though and provide a decent support option for us this season.

[Twodogs]

That's an amazing effort by Hargrave. A couple of years ago right at the start of cricket season I sprained my ankle pretty badly playing touch footy. I tried and tried but it was useless I just couldnt get out on the field for the rest of the season-I could barely stand upright for a couple of weeks.



The kids got guts. And he's become an incredibly valuable player for us.

[Go_Dogs]

I haven't. I still hold high hopes for McDougall and think he will be come a good player for us probably next season though and provide a decent support option for us this season.

Good to hear, and I tend to agree. I think he could still be a useful option for us.



Hargrave is a very tough man, it was a good article. Once we have another tall defender like Williams or Everitt in the team, I expect Hargrave will blossom into a great running-half back.

[LostDoggy]

Hargrave is a very tough man, it was a good article. Once we have another tall defender like Williams or Everitt in the team, I expect Hargrave will blossom into a great running-half back.

Would Hargrave be worth a try as a winger or as a forward? Probably better playing straight ahead but I think he could be a decent forward option for us.

[Go_Dogs]

No reason why not. He would be exciting on a wing, and I think he'd offer a lot as a forward too.