Myrtleford co-coach Matt Park’s career has ended after sustaining his third ACL injury in the pre-season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Park, 30, went down on his uninjured knee during a training drill prior to Christmas and feared the worst.
He joined Myrtleford during the 2015 season after relocating from Melbourne to Beechworth.
Park’s journey included an appearance for the Australian Joeys and seven seasons with Hearts in the Scotland, where he suffered two ACL tears to the left knee.
He went on to win the AWFA Star Player and golden boot in 2016, before coaching the Savoys to cup glory after he was ruled out of the finals with injury.
Park and partner in crime Jayden Vescio combined again in 2017 and 2018 to deliver the club back-to-back league and cup doubles.
Vescio admitted Park was the best non-international player he’s seen in AWFA.
“He’s done it all to the equivalent of anyone here in the region,” Vescio said.
“He relocated up here and happened to walk into a training session and the rest is history.
“We had a conversation about a few things and he doesn’t have any points to prove, so he’d rather go out on a high.
“He scored a double in the cup final (last year) and was a big part of why we won.
“The Tuesday after the injury he was at training with a whistle in his mouth calling the shots, so that’s the sort of guy we’re dealing with.”
But in a boost, Sam Morgan and Vitaly Leschen have returned to the club.
- Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here