“Absolutely not”: What Grimes was told by surgeon when he pondered playing on for Richmond

Richmond champion Dylan Grimes says his AFL career simply had to come to an end in 2024.

The triple premiership defender and former co-captain made the decision at the age of 33 after undergoing season-ending back surgery.

Grimes was wrestling with playing on again in 2025, but after a second bout of surgery to repair the disc in his lower back his surgeon made the call for him.

He was told “absolutely not” in relation to playing again, ultimately bring to a close a unique and successful 15-year career.

“Every player gets above 31-32 and starts thinking, ‘Could I go again?”,' Grimes said on SEN’s Hostplus One retirement series show.

“I’d thought about that for the last few seasons and I must admit I was grappling with that again this season. ‘Could I go again? Is that best for me and the club?’.

“I went in for back surgery and the surgeon almost laughed at me when I said I was considering it. He said, ‘Absolutely not, it’s just not worth it’.

“I had a disc repair and then I went back in for another disc repair and he said, ‘Look mate, we can’t take any more disc off. If you need surgery again it will be a disc fusion’, which you effectively lose a portion of your back and the mobility with that.

“The risk factor was just too high, risk versus reward. I definitely felt the body start to change and slow down, and noticed a change in performance as well. Over the last few years the fans probably noticed me slowing down as well. I had turned into a train when I had to turn.

“It was a relatively easy decision in the end and I pretty quickly gained some peace around it.”

Grimes is no stranger to setbacks as his early career was derailed by frequent hamstring injuries.

He was picked up in the 2010 Pre-Season Draft and could only manage 26 games across his first four campaigns.

Having dealt with so many issues with his body, Grimes was in the end happy to have the retirement call made for him.

“Lucky me, I think I’m the only player in the history of the game to ever have three hamstring repairs through surgery, which is a six-month process each time you do it,” he added.

“There was a period there where I remember thinking I’m probably one more injury off either the club tapping me on the shoulder or me realising I just couldn’t compete at the highest level.

“I always tell myself to never take good health for granted. Particularly with this injury which was such a life-consuming injury, I spent three months laying on my back, so that was a big moment of reflection.

“From June onwards I was recovering form that (recent) surgery and in there end it was the ultimate gift to kind of gracefully ease into retirement.

“A lot of players are not sure if they’re going around again or not, and for me I had a gentle easing into retirement which was the biggest gift.”

Grimes played 234 games for the Tigers, captained the club, won three flags, was named All-Australian once in 2019 and won the Jack Dyer Medal in 2021.

Watch the full episode below: