Surgeon says Koschitzke is OK
St Kilda ruckman Justin Koschitzke was given the all-clear by his neurosurgeon yesterday in the wake of his dramatic fainting spell on national television on Sunday but the Saint is no closer to having a definite return to football date. Koschitzke's manager Liam Pickering said yesterday the long planned visit to the neurosurgeon had reaffirmed initial findings from Epworth Hospital on Sunday that the fainting spell was not related to the fracture in his skull he received six weeks ago. Pickering said there was still no definite timetable for the ruckman's return to the game.
The Article Karen Lyon/TheAge/20Jun03
Koschitzke's return flagged by Saints Jim Wilson/HeraldSun/20Jun03
Kosi receives green light Greg Denham/TheAustralian/20Jun03
St Kilda star told to ease up as parents watch their son faint
Koschitzke regained consciousness immediately after he fainted, while his girlfriend Alicia telephoned his parents, Lorraine and Greg, who were watching the television at home in Brocklesby. He walked to the ambulance after the incident and was taken to Melbourne's Epworth Hospital where a precautionary brain scan showed Koschitzke's skull fracture was healing well. He was discharged about 12.30pm, 2½ hours after he fainted. It was speculated Koschitzke also fainted about 10 days ago and kept the incident quiet, but the Saints coach Grant Thomas and Pickering could not confirm this.
The Article Bordermail/TheAge/19Jun03
"After discussions with club doctors, I wouldn't be surprised to see him (Kosi) playing again within a month," Dr Peter Larkins
Saints signal Koschitzke return
Confusion continued last night over what caused star Saint Justin Koschitzke to collapse while being interviewed on TV at the weekend. Speculation on when he will play again this season is also the subject of discussion, with sports medical expert Dr Peter Larkins declaring Koschitzke should be back within a few weeks. Larkins agrees with Saints medical staff and a neurosurgeon who said the incident on Channel 7's Sportsworld had no connection with the fractured skull Koschitzke suffered six weeks ago.
The Article Jim Wilson/HeraldSun/20Jun03
Round 12 injuries list AAP/HeraldSun/19Jun03
Koschitzke hoping to return soon ABCSport/20Jun03
Scorpions - Match Report
In fresh and sunny conditions, the Casey Scorpions thrashed the living daylights out of Port Melbourne by 96 points at Casey Fields on Sunday afternoon . . . From this victory, Saints fans will be hopeful that these performances from the St Kilda listed players from this match will help over the next two weeks to push for selection, and lift the Saints as they head into the mid season break before they face Hawthorn. Mark Mc Gough returned for his first match for a while and found the football once again with 35 possessions (21 kicks, 14 handballs, 10 marks, 6 clearances). Allan Murray had a busy day around the ground with 25 possessions (16 kicks, 9 handballs, 11 marks). Other Saints to impress were Dylan Pfitzner also with 25 possessions (16 kicks, 9 handballs, 3 spoils), along with Barry Brooks (11 possessions:- 9 kicks, 2 handballs, 8 marks, 4 goals). Sam Gilbert worked hard in defence as well (11 possessions: 5 kicks, 6 handballs, 6 pressures, 7 spoils).
Scorpions smash Port Melbourne on the road to victory Gary Romeo/saints.com.au/19Jun06
Ball given the all clear
St Kilda has received some much-needed good news on the injury front with inspirational midfielder Luke Ball cleared of a recurrence of osteitis pubis. With Robert Harvey - who will be sidelined for three weeks after injuring his hamstring last Friday night - joining midfielders Lenny Hayes and Andrew Thompson on the Saints' casualty list, Ball's absence would have been a crushing blow for the club.
The Article Andrew Wu/saints.com.au/19Jun03
Rookie Success? saintsational.com (Forum Thread)
Injuries soar towards record
. . . With more than 10 full rounds and finals to come, the all-time record of 21 set in 1997 is under serious threat. This year's ACL toll has already passed the final figure of the past three seasons - 2003 (11), 2004 (9) and 2005 (10). Leading sport medico John Orchard, co-author of the annual AFL injury report, said the spike in knee injuries would be a strong focus at the end of the season.
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/20Jun03
It wouldn't hurt to yield for AFL to yield
Next weekend, St Kilda and Hawthorn will run onto Telstra Dome wearing blue and white checked police tape around their biceps. It will be a small show of support for the Silk-Miller Cup the two teams play for in honour of two murdered policemen, fans of both teams. But neither St Kilda nor Hawthorn will be fined $20,000 for this, because the AFL has approved the annual community-minded gesture since 1999. Under AFL rules blue and white is OK, but yellow is banned.
The Article The Age/20Jun03
Justin Koschitzke is cleared
News reports have cleared Justin Koschitzke of any serious problems when he fainted on Channel 7's SportsWorld studio this morning. He was talking to David Schwarz about being only a few weeks off playing on the AFL weekly wrap when he starting mumbling and he fell backwards. It was later reported that he did not have any breakfast and had just fainted.
Saintsational Thread saintsational.com
 Link to Video seven.com.au/18Jun06
"There is no evidence whatsoever there are any other mitigating medical problems that may have contributed to his faint, He is perfectly well now." Club doctor Ian Stone
'Kosy' collapses in TV studio
. . . "The good news for Justin and his family is that he's going to hospital and the signs are good. He does have a little bit of memory loss but only very slight. The medicos did say he fainted and lost a bit of blood pressure but he'll be OK." Schwarz said before he had collapsed live on air, Koschitzke had been looking forward to joining his St Kilda teammates on their mid-season break in Bonnie Doon, in north-east Victoria, for a week-long camp. "He said that he caught up with some ex-players last night in Stewart Loewe and they played a bit of poker but he had an early night," said Schwarz. "He came in (to the studio) with his partner Alicia and we're glad she was here because she did the ring-around to his family and manager Liam Pickering. "
The Article Daniel Pace/foxsports.news.com.au/18Jun03
Koschitzke on-air collapse
Koschitzke, who fractured his skull in a clash with Western Bulldog Daniel Giansiracusa last month, collapsed on Channel 7's Sportsworld. Koschitzke, 23, started swaying and slurring his words during an interview with former Melbourne player David Schwarz before collapsing and falling backwards. A shocked Schwarz tried to catch Koschitzke as he fell.
The Article Matt Cunningham, Sarah Wotherspoon and Dina Rosendorff/HeraldSun/19Jun03
Koschitzke collapses on TV set Daniel Pace of AAP/HeraldSun/18Jun03
Saint's faint 'not linked to head injury'
Perhaps the only thing more startling than Justin Koschitzke's collapse on television yesterday was the fact that the ambulance that ferried him to the Epworth hospital for precautionary scans didn't crash on the way. For when Koschitzke lost consciousness yesterday morning, slumping to the floor of the Channel Seven studio from which he was co-presenting a Sportsworld segment with David Schwarz, it was yet another episode in the story of misfortune the St Kilda ruckman has been living through for years. It was only six weeks ago, against the Western Bulldogs, that Koschitzke's skull was fractured in a shuddering collision with Daniel Giansiracusa. The hearing he lost in his right ear as a consequence of that clash of heads has yet to return, although it had improved sufficiently to allow the Saint to gingerly return to training 11 days ago. St Kilda's doctor Ian Stone dismissed suggestions of a link between what he described as "a simple faint" and the head injuries Koschitzke suffered in the Bulldogs match.
The Article Stephen Rielly and Kate Hagan/TheAge/19Jun03
Kosi faint due to illness
. . . The St Kilda star had told Schwarz prior to being interviewed that he played poker with some ex-players from the club on Saturday night, but did not stay out late. Koschitzke, 23, has played just two matches this season. He missed the opening three rounds with a knee injury, while he suffered a quadriceps injury in round five before sustaining the fractured skull. After winning the 2001 AFL Rising Star, Koschitzke has battled a number of injuries throughout his career. He has played 73 matches, but has played just 53 since 2002, although he remains one of St Kilda's most important players.
The Article Andrew Wu/saints.com.au/16Jun03
Koschitzke told to ease off
St Kilda star Justin Koschitzke has been told to lighten his attempt at an AFL comeback from a fractured skull after he fainted on national television today. Dehydration, a lingering virus and no breakfast are considered the likely reasons Koschitzke, 23, fainted minutes into a segment on Channel Seven's Sportsworld program, rather than by the effects of the head injury he suffered six weeks ago in a bump from Bulldog Daniel Giansiracusa.
The Article AAP/HeraldSun/18Jun03
 Footy Fan Survey seven.com.au
St Kilda waits on Ball scans
St Kilda, already facing three weeks without champion midfielder Robert Harvey, will sweat on results of scans that will determine whether captain Luke Ball's osteitis pubis has recurred. After the Saints' 10-goal battering by Adelaide on Friday night, Ball said he had an "ongoing battle" with the condition. "I've had a little injury at the start of the year and I've probably got a bit of an ongoing battle with my osteitis pubis, but nothing very serious, to be honest," Ball told 3AW. "I'm honestly not that bad. I've probably played 70 or 75 games now and I've probably been like this or pretty similar for all those games." In his medical review yesterday, Ball, who has missed two matches this year with a groin-related problem, complained of soreness, which prompted the club to book him in for tests.
The Article Samantha Lane/TheAge/18Jun03
Saints still believe
St Kilda's form so far in 2006 may have been "hot and cold", but assistant coach Matt Rendell says the club has certainly not given up hope of being a legitimate contender for this year's premiership. A week after winning a hard slog against reigning premier Sydney in heavy conditions at the SCG, the Saints were no match for Adelaide in the round 12 opener at Telstra Dome on Friday night, going down by 63 points. But while Rendell says it won't be the end of the world if the club fails to end a premiership drought that is heading towards 40 years this season, he believes recent history suggests the Saints can still turn things around this year. "I think if it doesn't happen this year and we lose some senior players at the end of the year, our opportunities are still big because we might be in the top quartile of average age at the moment but I think we drop to the bottom quartile next year," Rendell told Triple M radio on Saturday afternoon. "You would say we're a pretty young team and they've gained a lot of experience over the last three or four years. Certainly they're not an excuse but you need all your good players playing and we haven't been able to manage that in the last few years."
The Article Luke Buttigieg/Sportal/saints.com.au/17Jun03
Saints' 1966 win taught a child a vital lesson
Friends scoff at my ardour for Aussie football, I'm afraid. They seem to think that, as a psychologist, I should seek out a psychologically sophisticated pastime rather than barracking for the St Kilda Football Club. But I've always learned plenty from going to the footy. I grew up in 1950s and 1960s Hobart. My father ran one of the old corner stores and he worked long hours before he came at night into our substandard dwelling behind the shop. We felt the want of money. Yet, on a Saturday, Dad paid for himself and me to attend the Sandy Bay Football Club games in the Tasmanian Football League.
The Article Rosemary Williams/TheAge/18Jun03
ALL 2006 ARTICLES l HOME l GO BACK
|
