WESTERN Bulldogs ruckman Jordan Roughead rolled the dice with his long-term health when he took part in the 2016 Grand Final.

The risks he took and the hard conversations he had, have been revealed in a new book published this month.

Roughead sustained a hyphema (blood pooling in the front of the eye) during the preliminary final win over Greater Western Sydney and his availability as the Bulldogs sought to end their 62-year premiership drought was a talking point.



In a chapter about AFL club doctors in the book, People of the Boot, The Triumphs and Tragedy of Australian Jews in Sport, it's been revealed Bulldogs doctor Jake Landsberger called an 8am meeting on Grand Final morning to inform Roughead of the risks he faced if he played that day.

Also in attendance at the meeting at the Brighton surgery of leading eye specialist Andrew Atkins was Roughead's partner Bridget Davies, and the Bulldogs’ other club doctor, Gary Zimmerman.

After a final examination, Roughead was cleared to play. But then came the home truths.

"It could have bled again," Jake Landsberger recalled. "One risk was permanent eye damage and the second was that if he bled again, he would instantly be taken out of the Grand Final, like he was in the preliminary final the week before."

Roughead told everyone in the room that he would play, irrespective of the risk. He said he didn’t care about the threat of permanent damage, nor of any discomfort during the match.

"If I end up losing sight in my eye then I’ll be a true one-eyed Bulldogs’ supporter," he said.

Roughead was also reminded that he wouldn't be able to avoid being monitored during the game. The doctors would be on to him.

"I said to Jordan, every time you sit on the bench, and at every change, we'll be looking at your eye and we can tell if you’re bleeding. You don’t have to tell us," Landsberger said.

Roughead ended up not just playing but taking a key mark in the final quarter as the Bulldogs finally wrested the ascendancy from Sydney before winning by 22 points.