Heath Scotland, the boy from Darley who made the No.29 his own at Carlton, has bid the game a blue adieu. After 16 seasons and 268 senior games (the first 53 of them with Collingwood), a ruptured peroneal tendon in his left ankle has ultimately forced his decision.

Earlier today, “Scotto” and the Club's medical team conveyed their decision to Mick Malthouse, the senior coach who bookended the player’s days at Victoria Park and Visy Park.

Later, before addressing reporters’ questions in a press conference, Heath took time to articulate his thoughts in the following story:

The Carlton Football Club’s motto is ‘sound mind in a sound body’ and I can no longer live up to it. Mentally, psychologically and physically it’s now become too much.

I’m exhausted. I’m 33, about to turn 34, I’ve had two significant operations on my left ankle and I’ve been trying to get it right. But it’s a degenerative issue and I can’t keep going at the standard required now.

I had reconstructive surgery on my ankle last year, and I had work done on the peroneal the year before that. So it’s been two years of surgeries, a lot of rehab and physio, and I keep getting told that it’s a degenerative issue that won’t get any better at AFL level.

I’ve been very fortunate in my career not to have been hampered too much by injuries, and I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I’ve been able to overcome them quickly. In this instance I took the same approach, but I realised that with the rigours of League football I just couldn’t keep going anymore.

When you can’t walk up and down the stairs at home, or you can only walk up them sideways because of the lack of flexibility in your ankle, something’s not right. I couldn’t overcome this one and unfortunately it’s come at the wrong end of my career, but you know what? . . . it is what it is.

The other thing is that I’ve got to look at life after football, and I’ve put my body through so much in 16 years that it’s got to be too much now.

I admit that I’ve been fluctuating a bit with this decision through the year. I’ve had days where I’ve felt good and then there have been days where I’ve really struggled and thought ‘I might have to pull the pin here’. That’s been the tough part, because no-one ever wants to retire, least of all me, but it’s taken me to the midway point of the year where I’ve had a lot of work done on the ankle and it should be feeling better but it’s just getting worse and worse.

I know the time is right for me now. I could battle on, but it’s not fair on the club, the players and the supporters if I go out at 80 per cent. I’ve never been a player like that. I’ve always given it everything and I’m just not able to do that now.

The inability to push myself hard on the training track over the past year has taken away my core values as a player. Instead I’ve been spending all my time trying to recover for the next game. It’s been a bit of a downward spiral and I’ve tried everything to halt it, but I know that I’ve left it all out there and that the decision was effectively made for me.

I’ve been seriously thinking about retiring through the week of the bye as I didn’t want to rush into it. I only told Mick (Malthouse) this morning. Mick was pretty good. He’s very focused in ensuring any player leaves the club with a direction, that they’re not just lost, and I’m one of those. He knows I’m very keen on coaching and already I’m thinking of life after football.

Mick actually told the players of my decision. I couldn’t do it. You hear about how hard it is for players to tell their teammates they’re retiring, and I knew it might be difficult, but I didn’t appreciate how difficult it was. I had the opportunity to tell the players, but couldn’t get the words out. I got pretty emotional and didn’t really mutter anything, but I’m sure in the coming weeks the boys will let this wear off before giving me a bit of stick over it. I’ve given them plenty, so that’s fine.

I’ve invested everything in football since I first started playing, because I just love the game, but having to tell the players it was over was the final nail in the coffin and I found it extremely hard. You can’t play until your 60 or 70, so facing the reality that it’s over is hard to fathom. When you tell others it’s not too bad, but when you’re facing your teammates with whom you’ve worked and trained hard, and gone through everything with them, it’s tough.

I remember in my first or second year at Collingwood Gavin Crosisca telling me that it would be over in a blink. Of course I took it on board and respected what he said, but I remember thinking ‘Gee, ten years is a long time – that’s half my life’ – and here I am now, in my 16^th season and suddenly it’s gone. It’s sad and it’s a shame. You’re always aiming to play in a Premiership and I never got the chance to do that, so my advice to any young player is to make the most of it, because maybe there’s no next year, next month or next week.

When I came to this club I remember clearly walking down the hallway and seeing all the photos of the 200-game players. I remember thinking how amazing that was, and to get there has meant a lot. I’ll forever cherish that and, more importantly, the fact that I’ve become a Life Member of the club. That really meant a lot.

In walking away from the game I know I’m going to miss it terribly. There have been days along the way where I’ve rocked up to training thinking ‘Gee, I wouldn’t mind a day off’, but the moment you’re away you think the opposite. I’m really going to miss competing and playing. It’s always what I’ve wanted to do.

In closing, I want to be remembered as a player who left it out there, who gave it his all every week, and whose teammates knew he gave it his best effort.

Personally, I know I gave it everything. I’m comfortable knowing that I played for the Carlton jumper.