By Chris Pike EAST Perth's Craig Glancy overcame eye and kidney injuries that threatened his career to play a big part in the Royals' exciting win over Subiaco and was delighted to send Frank Agostino off in style.
Since the end of the 2008 season where Glancy managed to play just 11 games due to injury but finished second in the club's fairest and best voting, the 25-year-old suffered two injuries that looked capable of ending his 80-game WAFL career.
The first came in a Leederville nightspot in September when he was punched by Bradley Hayes Dorrington while he was holding a glass. That left him with 4-5cm laceration below his left eye and serious eye damage which is still not fully recovered.
Then after being named co-captain of East Perth alongside Michael Swan and Luke Webster, he suffered a lacerated kidney in a pre-season match against South Fremantle that doctors also told him would end his career.
However, not to be denied the courageous ball magnet returned for Monday's clash with Subiaco and was delighted to do so in what was 25-year-old Agostino's 103rd and final match due to knee problems.
With Dorrington found guilty by the Perth District Court and given a 15-month suspended jail sentence, Glancy is glad it's all behind him.
"There was a time there that I thought I was going to have to retire with the kidney, so I know what it's like and now make sure I will play every game like it is my last," Glancy said.
"Everyone keeps saying that it's character building, but I think I've got enough character at the moment. They have obviously been hurdles to get over, but I'm back playing now and that's good.
There's still some blurred vision there actually but other than that it's fine to go. It's good to have it all done and dusted in the courts now as well no matter what the result was with the sentencing, so I can just move on from it all."
The kidney is also feeling fine and it had to be with the way Glancy immediately through himself at a contest and got crunched as soon as he ran onto the field.
"The kidney's 100 per cent so I was right to go. I got the guard made up and it's all good," he said.
"It felt good to be back. In the first contest it got tested out which was good but it was even better to get up to win for Frankie. The boys followed through and it was a great effort."
The win over Subiaco was not only memorable to put the Royals inside the top-four, but also send off Agostino in style, which was a huge motivation for Glancy.
"I played colts footy with Frank, in a colts premiership with him and I actually lived with him and his family when I first moved up (from Bridgetown), so it was a massive motivation for myself. It was good for the boys to get over the line for him," he said.
"It's inspiring to see what he's been through with his two knee recons and how he's got up to beat the odds because every specialist told him not to play. It was good for him to reach 100 games like he's always wanted to do and for us to get over the line for him was great."
Despite being one of the best ball winners in the league when fit, Glancy has only managed 52 games in the last five years but is confident of now playing out 2009 without interruption and is impressed with the way the team is travelling, especially young ruckman Zac Clarke.
"We've got Booby (Tony Micale) leading the way and we will only keep getting better because we have the new game plan. Once we get a four-quarter effort going we will give all the good sides a shake. We have a few old heads out there still and quite a few young guys to give us some run, so it's a good blend.
"We've run over a couple of black cats I think because our luck isn’t going our way with tall players especially, but if we can keep hold of Zac and he doesn’t go up to Fremantle, then get Merro (Andrew Merrington) back in three or four weeks and we will be doing fine.
"For a guy who has only played one season of footy, Zac is going to be an absolute star so I'm just hoping we can hold onto him for a while."
