Brendon Goddard is nursing suspected broken ribs after being caught in a bone-crunching tackle during his one-off appearance for North Wangaratta over the weekend.
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Greta wrecking ball Bryce Ralph may have inadvertently ensured Goddard has played his last match after nailing the former AFL great late in the contest.
Hawks' coach Josh Warren's season is also over after he suffered a broken collarbone after copping a perfectly executed hip and shoulder from Ralph moments before the Goddard incident.
"Goddard and I both got injured late by a rampaging Ralph," Warren said.
"I've got a broken collarbone and busted AC joint.
"He got the two of us in the space of 10 seconds.
"I copped a solid hip and shoulder and then Brendon got crunched in a tackle.
"There was nothing dirty about it, Bryce is just a big boy that weighs about 110kg and knows how to use his huge frame.
"Brendon thinks he has broken his ribs and there was less than five minutes remaining when it happened.
"He was meant to play another match in Tasmania in a couple of weeks.
"But Brendon told me after the game that he has called it quits and won't pull on the boots ever again.
"I'm disappointed my season is over as well because that was only my second match back after suffering a broken jaw."
Goddard was in obvious discomfort when being interviewed by the media after the match.
"I got tackled there in the last couple of minutes and landed on my ribs," Goddard said.
"I'm a bit short of breath.
"But it was great to be able to belt out the club song especially because it was only the second time this year and only the fourth time over the past three of four years.
"Everybody was up and about and there was a fair bit of Carlton Draught being thrown around.
"But this is what grassroots footy is all about, where the community comes together on the weekend to support their local team.
"I know how important clubs are to regional communities and the response today was awesome."
The two injuries were the only dampener on what was a huge day for the Ovens and King battler.
The Hawks won just their second match of the season after booting four goals to nothing in the last term to win by 26 points.
Warren said it was a 'phenomenal' day for the club.
"It was just a phenomenal day," he said.
"Brendon was just first rate from the moment he arrived.
"He walked into the rooms and introduced himself individually to every other player in the team.
"He wanted to be on a first name basis with all the players.
"It took me a bit by surprise because he easily just walked in and put on a bit of a show for the cameras.
"But he really embraced the occasion and would have had his photo taken with more than 100 people before the game.
"I reckon he would have had his photo taken more than 500 times by the end of the day.
"It's something our club will never forget and I know the younger blokes really appreciated the experience."
Goddard kicked 1.2 and had 19 disposals playing across half-forward, half-back and rotating through the midfield.
"Brendon was certainly pivotal to us winning," Warren said.
"His biggest highlight was probably when he took a mark on the wing late in the second quarter when running with the flight of the ball.
"It was fairly courageous because he got crunched by their centre half-foward but it inspired everyone."
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Warren said Goddard saw the funny side of the club's prank of having a sign at the front gate of 'No pretzels past this point.'
"Brendon said to me 'I'm really going to enjoy today' after he saw the sign," he said.
"It was a bit of an icebreaker and I'm glad we did it."
The day proved a financial bonanza for the club with a crowd of more than 1500 turning up to watch the ex-AFL star.
"It was the biggest gate the club has had for the past two decades," Warren said.
"They sold more than 100 slabs for the day and we thank everyone for their support."
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