Tara Murray
Werribee’s Connor Thar thought about giving away footy in the Victorian Football League off season.
Having struggled to put games together since the 2018 NAB League season, Thar started to think that football wasn’t for him.
In 2019, he was playing with his local club Werribee Districts when he ruptured his kidney, with doctors at one stage talking about removing it.
After a lot of hard work, Thar was keen to return to the field, but COVID-19 hit meaning he didn’t play a game in 2020.
He finally made his VFL debut in 2021 before an ankle injury wiped out his 2022 season before it even started.
“COVID and injuries, I nearly sort of gave it up,” Thar said.
“I thought I would have one last crack at it and throw everything at it and take some risks. I’m very happy that I did it.”
A broken ankle in a practice match in 2022 meant that Thar’s hopes of building on his momentum of 2021 was ended.
He finally made it back to play local football, but it hadn’t fully healed, so he pulled the pin on the season.
It meant missing a grand final appearance with Werribee Districts.
Thar said everyone at the club had been keen to go onto bigger and better things, but it wasn’t to be.
He said it would have been special to have the opportunity to win a flag with them.
Thar said in the end his love of football was behind the decision to continue playing on.
“It’s been a tough five years,” he said. “I kept getting injured and I was thinking why is this happening to me.
“I still love playing footy and I’m enjoying it. When I was injured last year, I thought about footy and started to understand that being injured isn’t the worst thing in the world.
“It is part of footy and I now have a different mindset with footy and life. It’s a positive thing to have come out of it.”
Thar said he would have been happy playing local football or in the VFL this season, as long as he was out there playing.
He said having struggled to play more than three games in a row the last five years, he was in new ground.
Thar said one thing he had been keen on doing was repaying the faith that those at Werribee had him.
He said walking into the club each night there are 40 to 50 good mates, while there was plenty of support from the likes of coach Michael Barlow, assistant coach Nick Daffy and chief executive Mark Penaluna.
The hard work in the off season had paid off, with Thar having played three matches for Werribee so far this season.
“They have been really persistent with me,” he said. “It’s a little embarrassing talking about form when I’ve only played three matches.
“I’m really enjoying it, week in, week out. There’s a lot of good players and I’m doing my job and role for the team and trying to help us win and have a chance to play finals and win a flag.”
Thar has kicked seven goals so far this season, as part of the side’s small forward brigade.
It’s a role that has taken a little while to get used to.
“The small ford role, I’ve been grasping for the last couple of years,” he said.
“In the TAC Cup I was in the midfield. Nick Daffy has worked with me the last two years and I’ve been able to grasp it better.
“I just love stepping out on the field with the other guys.”
While happy with his season so far, Thar said he doesn’t look too far ahead, just taking it a week at a time.
He’s keen to consolidate his spot in the side.
Werribee had the bye on the weekend and is back in action this week against Essendon.
