“Physically impossible”: Why Brad Crouch made the decision to retire

Retired St Kilda midfielder Brad Crouch insists ending his AFL career was a bittersweet decision.

The 30-year-old called time on his career last week after 161 total games for Adelaide (95) and the Saints (66), citing a degenerative knee as the reason why.

That injury restricted him to just one solitary AFL match in 2024.

Despite the premature retirement which might have come as a shock to some, Crouch says the knee that has troubled him since the 2023 season had deteriorated so much that retirement was the only option.

“I tried just about everything,” he said on SEN’s The Run Home.

“It was really weird to be honest. I had just about every other injury under the sun other than a knee injury throughout my career, and that was the one that ended me.

“People who have had knee replacements would know how quickly they can go downhill. I had a scope (arthroscope) at the end of 2023 and carried that through, then it got worse and worse from there and I was fighting an uphill battle.”

Crouch says his head and heart would love to continue playing for the Saints but his body just cannot keep up any longer.

“I think the mind is (keen) but the body is nowhere near it,” he added.

“I just can’t do it, it’s physically impossible. In the end it was a pretty simple decision, but also hard because of how it all happened.

“It is what it is. To play for as long as I did (was pleasing), but I’m pretty relieved about everything at the moment. I’m happy I got it out of the way.”

Crouch had a great 2023 campaign with the Saints, racking up over 650 disposals and attracting 18 Brownlow votes.

But it was during that season when the issues started to arise.

“The first time I got sore was about eight or nine rounds in,” the 2019 Crows best and fairest said further.

“At the time it wasn’t even that bad to be honest. Towards the end of the season I started getting pretty sore and then after the clean-out, for whatever reason, the makeup of my knee just didn’t work and I couldn’t get back to playing properly.”

Peculiarly, Crouch was delisted and re-rookied just five days prior to making the retirement call.

“It’s been a long road with our negotiations with the footy club and trying to work out everything,” he said.

“It sort of dragged out to that point.

“When you’re already 30 it’s pretty frustrating when you can’t do what you normally do. I kept going into see surgeons and specialists that would give PRPs (platelet-rich plasma injections) and cortisones.

“I tried all that and it gets to the stage where you think, ‘now I’m starting to embarrass myself a bit’. I thought I’m not going sit around here and embarrass myself for too long.”

Crouch, who says he might be due a knee replacement in 10 years, will dip his toe into the coaching waters by taking up an assistant role with Eastern Football League club Noble Park.

He initially had a desire to pursue a coaching path in the AFL system but is more content to step away for the time being.

“I was only 17 when I got drafted, it’s a been long road. I feel like getting out of the AFL system for a little bit,” he added.

“But I also love the footy environment, so I want to be around the boys.

“Noble Park has been amazing for me as well.”

Crouch is working in industrial real estate with Colliers at Essendon Fields where he is listed as Executive - Industrial & Logistics.