You’d be hard-pressed to find a footballer as unlucky as Ed Vickers-Willis when it comes to injury. 

After suffering a season-ending PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) injury after colliding with a point post in Round 7 of 2018, he was named in North Melbourne’s Round 1 team to face Fremantle. What happened next, was heart-breaking. 

“It was pretty surreal. I hadn’t played an AFL game for quite a while (Round 7, 2018) and I was super excited,” Vickers-Willis told North Media. 

“I went to put body on Matt Taberner in a marking contest, and I saw Michael Walters float across the front. As I pushed Taberner out of the way, I tried to jump and spoil Walters, and I felt my left knee buckle. 

“I knew straight away. They say you feel a pop when you do your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), and I felt a pop.

“I wasn’t in any pain whatsoever, and I was kind of laughing as I was coming off, thinking “this has happened again”.”

While the reality of another extended period on the sidelines was brutal, he found comfort from those closest to him.

“Mum and Dad were there (Optus Stadium) which was really good. I was able to give them a call and they came down to see me. They were pretty emotional too, and there was a bit of a group hug,” Vickers-Willis said. 

“They are heavily invested in my career and they just want to see me happy. 

“Calling my girlfriend Emily was probably the hardest part. She wasn’t in Sydney last year when I did my knee and she really struggled with that.” 

The number 33 has had more than his fair share of injuries since being drafted in 2014; shoulder, meniscus and PCL troubles restricting him from ever getting an extended run at the highest level.

But he’s staying positive. 

“The initial feeling is grieving, because something has been taken away from you,” Vickers-Willis said.

“Before the game I was thinking about playing the next 22 weeks plus finals. 

“Then you gain some perspective on where footy sits. Footy isn’t everything. I have some other things going on outside of footy, and still have exciting things happening. 

“I saw the way Alex Rance and Lynden Dunn handled it (knee injuries) and they have kind of said the same thing, that the sun will still come up tomorrow and there’s more to life.”

Confidence in his own ability sure to hold Vickers-Willis in good stead when he makes his return.

“I feel like when I have been playing, I’ve been playing good footy,” he added.

“None of these injuries have been my fault, so there’s not much you can do. Next year it’s same again, and there’s no reason I can’t have a big 2020. 

“I’m only 23, so there’s plenty to look forward to.”