Toby Greene: studs up, chest out and jaw jutted, the AFL star has done it his way | Jonathan Horn

The GWS forward has walked a troubled track over the years but when at his brilliant best, like at the weekend, it’s easy to forget anyone else is on the field

One of the most extraordinary quarters of the 2023 season began with a pitiful sight, as a buckled Josh Bruce was assisted around the boundary line by two Western Bulldogs trainers. Sportspeople who tear their ACL for the first time often don’t immediately grasp the severity of it. Last week, Adelaide’s Nick Murray was doing mobility drills, giving the thumbs up to medicos and seemingly good to go. Not long after, he was tapped on the shoulder. See you in 12 months.

But Bruce had been there before. He knew. He recently described the video of his first ACL reconstruction. “They’re like carpenters,” he said. “It’s sickening. You wake up and it’s like: “what the fuck did they just do to me? It takes six months to get over the bone bruising.” He’s 6ft 6in, on the wrong side of 30 and looking at his second knee reconstruction in as many years. It really is a prick of a game sometimes.