Spring reloaded: How Jeremy regained his leap

Jeremy Howe recently feared he had lost his greatest physical asset – his ability to leap and take a spectacular mark.

The senior Magpie had barely missed a game from his debut with Melbourne in round 11, 2011 to round four of 2020 before injuring his knee against GWS in season-ending fashion.

He returned for the opening game of 2021 and played five matches before injuring his hamstring against West Coast. A decision four weeks later to have surgery has been the catalyst for a renewed confidence in his body.

“It was really difficult for myself,” an honest Howe tells The Age and Sydney Morning Herald about his two injury-plagued years.

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“I’ve never really had a long-term injury before, and I guess it was my time to sit on the bench for quite some time.

“I probably struggled with it initially because I’ve never really been in a position where I haven’t been able to contribute on field, so it was a bit foreign to me.

“There were times there for a while when you’re kind of like, ‘maybe it [my body] is not going to be the same.’

“It certainly took its toll, not just physically but mentally you kind of question your ability.”

But when he leapt onto the head of Matt Taberner in his side’s stirring round 10 win over Fremantle, taking a mark in wet conditions that is certain to be considered among the best this year, any doubt about his “hops” were washed aside.

“That was probably one of the ones early days, even in the West Coast game when I hurt my hammy, that was one of the things that was restricting me [after my knee injury],” Howe says.

“I could run, I could change direction, I could bend over, I could do absolutely everything, but then every time I jumped and raised that leg I felt like I was doing a really bad hammy.

“I ended up going in for surgery and cutting a fair significant part of my scar tissue and bits of my hammy out to be able to relieve the pain.

“But the body has healed back to what it was, which is kind of relieving.

“It probably took 18 months for me to feel I’ve got my stuff back together and the body is feeling really healthy.”

Enjoying his footy

Closing in on his 32nd birthday, Howe says there is an enjoyment in the way Collingwood now plays their football.

Under former coach Nathan Buckley, the Magpies played a safe, possession brand that tried to limit the damage opposition sides were inflicting.

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But Howe says under Craig McRae, it’s been a total 180.

“It’s been great,” Howe says.

“I’ve had discussions with ‘Pendles’ [captain Scott Pendlebury] as well and he’s as hungry as he’s been in a while, and I suppose you just get rejuvenated with a lot of freshness around the place, which has been good for our group.

“An uncontested brand that we probably used to play with ball in hand is not what we’re doing any more. We’re having less disposals and taking the ball forward, backing in the contest and defending off the back of that now.

“It’s a bit different to what we used to do. We still have some inconsistencies at times but you’ve got to expect that with a fair few young guys playing and also it’s a new game plan, so we’re still learning on the job, but it’s certainly been enjoyable to play like that.”

Wins over Fremantle, Carlton and Hawthorn in the past three weeks have sparked the Pies’ momentum towards the second half of the year, and Howe says they’re capable of making a significant impression this season.

“We’ve dropped games we probably should have won, but the teams we’ve claimed wins on, three are in the top five on the ladder, so we feel like when we’re on, we’re pretty hard to stop as well.

“We’ll hopefully just continue to build on that, especially when we have young guys coming in and getting a taste of those wins in big games like that, it can only feed and fuel the fire for our team.”

Meeting his old side

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A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Howe was traded at the end of 2015 to the Magpies, who effectively gave up Ben Kennedy (to Melbourne) and Paul Seedsman (to Adelaide) for the swingman.

While Howe’s chance at a premiership went begging in 2018, only for the Dees to salute last year, there’s very little still attaching the 100-game Demon to his former club.

“The list change over from when I was there, I think there’s only ‘Gawny’ (Max Gawn), Tommy McDonald and maybe ‘Vines’ (Jack Viney) or something still on the list since I left,” he said.

“It’s good to see them go well. Last year I felt like they just got it humming at the right time of the year and they played the most dominant last seven weeks that you’d see in some time.

“I always enjoy playing against them, but as time goes past, the banter and attachment towards that club goes away. Time flies – it’s my seventh year at Collingwood.”

But bigger than the game of football is the Big Freeze occasion and with it, Neale Daniher’s determination to fight the beast that is MND; a cause Howe says is a privilege to be involved in.

“I don’t necessarily look in the crowd and look for black and white, I look for how many blue beanies are in there, and that’s just everyone getting behind a great cause, and then you just see the beanies for the next three months,” Howe says.

“What Neale’s been able to do for such a great cause has been truly inspiring and we love just being a part of that day. It definitely gets more and more traction every year, and we’re just thankful we get to play in big games like that.”

As for beating the Demons, Howe says the side will take very little from their win over Simon Goodwin’s men in 2021, but remain confident they can match the premiership favourites.

“It’s evident you don’t have to be too far off to drop a game,” he says of the Demons’ last fortnight.

“They’re certainly not unbeatable but when they get the game on their terms, they can bang on about six goals in five minutes. That obviously goes a long way towards winning, but we certainly feel like our game is good enough to beat anyone.”