There have been few courageous acts like the one we saw Kyron Hayden display last Saturday night.
Running back with the flight of the ball the young defender collided with two other players and had to be stretchered from the ground.
Remarkably, Hayden remembers every moment and says if he had his time again, he wouldn’t change a thing.
It’s the example, attitude and commitment that teams can feed off for years.
“I’d do the same thing again, you’ve got to go when you’ve got to go,” Hayden told North Media without hesitation.
“You build trust when guys put their bodies on the line, and you want to play with blokes who do that, so you’ve got to do it when it’s your time.”
Miraculously Hayden believes he could have walked off the field without help after the sickening clash with the big frames of North’s Ben McKay and Richmond’s Tom Lynch.
“I was playing on Daniel Rioli, and he was up a bit high and wide, so I made the decision to drop back and once the ball came in, I made the decision to go for it,” Hayden recalled.
“I saw them (McKay and Lynch) coming in the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t pull out as I’d already committed.
“I tried not to think about it too much, and just kept my eye on the ball. That’s football.
“I stuck with my decision, and thankfully it looked worse than it was.
“I was definitely winded, and was just looking to heave in some air.
“I was a bit rattled but I was alright. Two or three minutes after I felt fine. I felt that I could have walked off, but the protocols are there for a reason so I listened to the doctors.”
The courageous act captivated some of the game’s greats too, with Brownlow Medalist Shane Crawford impressed.
“His teammates, the opposition, everyone is going to respect him,” Crawford said.
“Well done young man, in putting your body on the line. Sometimes you have to go and you don’t want to, but that was unbelievable courage.”
As for his recovery, Hayden is already putting his hand up to play this week but knows he’ll need the doctor’s approval.
“I’ve pulled up fine. I’m looking to play this week,” he said defiantly.
“I’ve watched it (the incident) about a million times (laughs).
“It’s a good hit, and looks pretty nasty. But it looks worse than it was.
“My family were a bit worried, and told me to be a bit smarter next time.”
