St Kilda reward tradie turned rookie ruck star Jack Hayes with classy move after ACL injury

Almost as soon as his AFL dream came true, it turned into a nightmare for mature-age St Kilda recruit Jack Hayes.

But in a classy move, the Saints will re-sign the cult hero for a further season after Hayes suffered a season-ending injury against GWS on Friday.

Hayes was thrust into the ruck role against the Giants on Friday with Paddy Ryder suspended and Rowan Marshall suffering a corked thigh early in the contest.

Unfortunately for Hayes and the Saints, the 26-year-old suffered an ACL injury in the first quarter and was subbed out of the game, leaving under-sized Josh Battle to toil in the ruck.

Hayes is subbed out of the Saints side that claimed a gritty win over the GWS Giants on Friday

Hayes has been one of the feelgood stories of the AFL in 2022 after earning a one-year contract following back-to-back premierships with Woodville West Torrens that established him as the best player in the SANFL.

He was working as a concreter and playing SANFL before finally earning his shot at the big time. Now, St Kilda are determined to ensure he gets to continue that dream. 

St Kilda coach Brett Ratten confirmed that the club would immediately enter contract negotiations with Hayes to ensure he gets another crack in the AFL in 2023.

‘We’ll have a conversation with him ASAP,’ Ratten said post-game.

‘We want to take away any of the anxiousness and allow him to go into this ACL rehab process knowing what the future looks like. He doesn’t have to worry about that, he can just get to work and do what he does. We’ll look after him and talk to him about that.’  

Hayes has become a cult hero among fans and a much-loved teammate at the Saints, given the nickname the Ox after his breathtaking AFL debut in their season-opener against Collingwood where the forward/ruck kicked three goals to almost steal victory.

Hayes has been an instant hit at the Saints and a cult hero amongst fans

Ironically, it almost never happened after the concreter saw his manager calling but elected to brush the call and stay on the tools instead.

‘It’s a funny story. I was actually at work and got a call from my manager and I sort of saw it on my phone and hung up on him,’ Hayes told the Sounds of the Saints podcast.

‘I was just like ‘oh I’ll worry about that at the end of the day. I called him back at the end of the day and he’s gone ‘why’d you hang up on me?’ and then obviously told me the news.

‘It was out of the blue. I’m just absolutely rapt to be here.’

The Saints have also lost Nick Coffield to an ACL injury for the season. However, in a boost for the club Ryder will return from suspension for the club’s next assignment against Port Adelaide while Zak Jones [mental health leave] has also returned and is playing VFL for Sandringham.

Jack Billings [hamstring] and Hunter Clark [jaw] are also expected to return to training in the coming weeks and will push for selection.