Wangaratta teenager Daniel Sharrock has written his name into club folklore by returning to the field after straightening his badly broken nose against Yarrawonga.
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Sharrock was forced to the blood bin at the 26-minute mark of the first quarter.
“I went to tackle and he lifted his arms up for a handball and as he brought his elbow down, it clipped me straight on the nose,” he said.
“I heard it sort of snap and I quickly felt it, to see if it was right, it was a bit sharp to one side.
“I went to (Wangaratta) hospital and they said it was going to be an hour and a half wait.
“In that time, mum was asking dad and he was telling us the score, I was itching to play and so I said to mum, ‘do you reckon if I try and push it back in, it should be right’?
So I sort of just gave it a push and I heard a little click and straight away it was better.
- Daniel Sharrock
“So I go, ‘if it’s straight then it might be alright’.
“I went to the toilets and had a towel that was covered in blood, so I sort of just gave it a push and I heard a little click and straight away, it was better and I could breathe and my face wasn’t as tense.
“I went back to mum and said, ‘it feels amazing, feels really good’ and she said, ‘oh well, go ask the nurse what’s the protocol (for a broken nose)’.
“But all she was going to do was get it X-rayed so I thought I may as well get an X-ray Monday.”
With a mummy-like bandage plastered across his nose, Sharrock goaled late in the final term to push the lead to 17 points.
Sharrock is one of the batch of young Pies who gained experience both under former coach Brendan Cairns and now Dean Stone, which ended up proving so crucial in last year’s stunning upset of Albury.
Given his courageous act, Sharrock will naturally be keen to face Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday, although that could well depend on results from the X-ray.
