By Jarrod Potter
SATURDAY was a nightmare for the local hard-nuts as a pair of well-known footballers had their seasons – and potentially careers – put on hold.
Noble Park’s win against North Ringwood came at huge cost, losing star midfield recruit Shane Valenti for the rest of the season and potentially a good chunk of 2016.
While the Bulls had best and fairest winner Sam Monaghan return to the line-up, and also notch his 100th match for the club, the 29-point victory was marred as Valenti left the game in the second quarter clutching his knee.
The two-time VFL Liston Trophy winner was set to have the injury examined early this week to find out if he had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear – which would sideline him for at least a full year.
Keysborough defender Corey Wilkinson had his season turned upside down after the joy of recently notching up his 300th game turned into despair after breaking his leg in the game against Skye on Saturday.
Wilkinson’s injury forced the cancellation of the match with Keysborough awarded the 13-point win after an ambulance was called to help the defender to Frankston Hospital.
The Burra mainstay will miss the rest of the season after having surgery over the weekend to correct the break and will potentially bow out of the local game altogether after reaching triple figures in a career across the Southern Football League and the now defunct Casey Cardinia Football League.
