Wil Powell speaks candidly about the gruesome injury that cut his 2022 season short and the subsequent uphill battle he has faced to get fit again.
"I didn't feel pain at the start, I just looked at it and was in shock. My ankle was facing the wrong way and then about 10 or 15 seconds after it happened the pain set in, just excruciating, all the way up my leg. It almost didn't feel real how sore it was. I was lucky enough the doctors came over with the green whistle pretty quick and that subdued everything," Powell said.
"I had (physiotherapist) Lindsay (Bull) on my thigh and (club doctor) Barry (Rigby) on my ankle pretty much playing tug-of-war with my foot and leg trying to put the ankle back into the socket and they couldn't do it. It was still dislocated in the ambulance. The fibula was pointing too far to the right and it was trapping the ankle."
He was then in a moonboot for another eight weeks – all the while his teammates battled, without success, to qualify for finals for the first time in club history.
"I broke down a few times. The girlfriend had to listen to me complain a few times. Lucky I had some good support around me, my girlfriend and mum and dad came over (from WA) to look after me," he said.
"You have to find a way to be a competitor with yourself, to try and better yourself week on week. It was going on for four or five months and you get sick of rehab by yourself. You have a little checklist you're waiting to tick off. Four good weeks in the gym, six good weeks. It does wonders for you mentally."
Wil Powell will miss the rest of the 2022 season after confirmation of a broken ankle and ligament damage that will require surgery.
Powell endured the sickening injury during the third quarter of the Suns' win over Adelaide where his right leg got caught awkwardly under his body in a tackle.
Wil Powell is sent for scans after suffering a sickening right leg injury in a tackle against Adelaide.
Powell's knee and ankle buckled under his body midway through the third quarter, forcing a five-minute delay in play as he was taken from the field via a medi-cab.
Wil Powell signs a four-year contract extension to remain with the Suns until the end of 2025.
Walking into the club weighing just 67kg, Powell told AFL.com.au it took some time to adjust to life on the other side of the country. However, in his second year at the club, it was the move of his parents Scott and Sharyn, two sisters and three dogs across the country that made all the difference in his development.
"That settled me so much, having family there with me when I got home. I was such a young kid mentally and emotionally as well. That really helped me," he said.
"From there it just got to a point where I didn't need them anymore, and I wanted my own space because I'd matured. I was having the time of my life here and coming to the club and seeing all my mates.
"Mum and dad have the biggest hearts and they just wanted the best for me. They relocated the whole family just for me. I look back and go 'wow, that's pretty special'."
Wil Powell speaks of the after-effects of his recent concussion when he was knocked out by a Will Setterfield tackle in round four.
The second-year Sun tried to regain his feet after the tackle but fell backwards and hit his head before leaving the field.
"I had a headache for about a week. During that week I got up at one stage and went completely blank and had to lean against a wall," Powell said.
"I hated being a couch potato. I wasn't allowed to move, wasn't allowed to go to the club or anything. It was ongoing headaches in the morning and getting up from sitting down and having a headache."
Wil Powell's path to the Gold Coast senior team began about a year ago when he was told by his manager Colin Young to put together a video of his best under-18 highlights to send to club scouts.
"It was fun, something to do. I enjoy watching edits but putting all the best parts into a little movie made me feel proud that it was going out to AFL clubs," Powell said.
Powell didn't get his hopes up and continued to play for Claremont without winning selection for the West Australian team. But his tape had made waves, and soon the Suns recruiting team was the first to arrive on his door for an interview. They had a request, too.
"I got told to keep it all 'hush hush'. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, only my family. Nobody else could know. So I didn’t tell anyone, I had to keep it secret from other clubs if they asked I'd had any meetings with anyone else," Powell said.
"I met with Melbourne, who told me the same thing to keep it 'hush hush'. I also spoke to Port Adelaide, Freo, Richmond, Carlton and Collingwood.
"I didn't expect to have one chat to an AFL club because I was only a little wiry skinny kid just playing my role and not doing anything out of the blue to get recognised. When I had my first chat it was like 'wow'."
Wil Powell makes his AFL debut for Gold Coast with 10 disposals (7 kicks and 3 handballs), 4 marks, a tackle and a goal in a 39-point loss to Collingwood.
Friday, 29 June 2018
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew's call to tell Will Powell he was to debut on Saturday against Collingwood was meant to be a surprise. However, Powell's housemate Peter Wright may have inadvertently tipped the youngster off.
"I was out the front about to wash my car and I got a call from Stuey," Powell said.
"The conversation started off relatively normal, then I saw Pete creeping around the corner with his phone filming me and the lightbulb went off."
The 18-year-old said despite his path and light frame, he expected to debut in 2018.
"I wasn't going to come in and not expect to play, I was going to try and do everything to play an AFL game, especially when it's been your dream for so long, and my dream's come true this week," he said.
Wil Powell says being snubbed by Western Australia's under-18 selectors only drove him harder last season.
Powell snuck under the radar of many when he was taken by Gold Coast with the 19th pick in last week's NAB AFL Draft after missing the national under-18 carnival.
"I was trying to get into the state 18s squad, but didn't crack into it, didn't get offered any trial matches, which disappointed me," Powell said.
"But I guess that made me try a bit harder throughout the colts and put my head down and train a bit harder and I eventually got where I wanted to get in the end."