Brave face: Sam Campbell (laying down) is comforted by Liam Francis and Will Wild after he suffered a horrific leg injury that saw him spend the next eight days in a Bendigo hospital. Kyabram businesswoman Jess Scoble (Burnt Butter) has launched an appeal to support the 19-year-old, gaining the support of Kyabram Kebabs. Every regular coffee and kebab sold for the next month will see $1 donated to Sam.
A unique photograph taken by Kyabram Football Netball Club president John Guinan, after an on-field incident involving a reserve grade player forced a long delay to play, is being used as the centrepiece of a fundraising program launched to support the teenager.
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Guinan was one of the first on the scene after 19-year-old defender Sam Campbell landed awkwardly on his right leg and suffered horrendous damage that included multiple fractures to his fibia, tibia and ankle, along with significant tendon and muscle damage.
The photograph is of Campbell laying on his stomach holding the hands of close friend Liam Francis and team captain Will Wild.
“I was in a heap of pain and I was squeezing both Will and Liam’s hand. I was trying to take my mind off things, so I said to Johnny ‘grab a pic, this will be one to remember’,” Sam told the Free Press from his hospital bed in Bendigo on Monday.
It was the opening quarter of the Kyabram and Seymour final when Campbell was involved in a one-on-one marking duel and suffered the injury.
A Bendigo surgeon with 20 years’ experience assumed the Kyabram teenager had been in a car crash when he first saw the damage to his right leg after he arrived by ambulance from Rochester’s Moon Oval,“ Sam said.
“The fibia and tibia both were broken and a few ligaments came off the bone. There was an obvious dislocation, soft tissue damage and some torn muscles.
“The surgeon said it was one of the worst he had seen in his time. He presumed I had been in a bad car crash.”
Road to recovery: Sam Campbell has a 15-month rehabilitation program ahead of him after breaking his fibia, tibia and ankle while playing for Kyabram in a reserve grade Goulburn Valley League match with Seymour.
As for the incident itself, he said he was a bit out of position, so decided to launch at the ball and his opponent.
“My aim was to jump into the (Seymour) player, which caused all my momentum to shift.
“I landed on right foot and that’s where it ended,” he said.
Francis and Wild, the latter who sprinted from a hundred metres away to be with Campbell once he realised the substantial damage done to the leg, were the first on the scene.
“They stayed with me while the ambos were there,” Sam said.
“I was trying to fight through the pain, so I was making some jokes, which is how the photo happened,” he said
He said close friends Will Burnett and Tom Bruhn were also part of the team, but it was coach Scott Hearn who he was most worried about.
“He was struggling a bit to look at it. It threw him off a bit,” he said.
Among the many people to come on to the ground were Sam’s parents, Kerrie and Damien.
“Mum came out because I’ve had a few concussions in the past. When she saw me talking she asked what was wrong with me and dad told her to look at my foot.
“It was facing the wrong way, so she almost fell over,” he said.
Sam’s younger brother, Will, who had played in the under-18 game earlier in the day, was also out on the ground in support.
While Sam was discharged from hospital on Monday, he will be unable to do anything for the next two weeks — when he will have a third surgery
He will then have another four weeks of “couch time’’ and faces a 15-month recovery before even considering a return to contact sport.
The fact the injury has ended his football season is the last thing on his mind as he is studying a Diploma of Sport and Business with Richmond Football Club.
He has already been given an extension on the program and was making plans on Monday to watch his teammates in this weekend’s preliminary final.
“I’m hoping to watch them play this weekend,” he said, explaining how his 2022 season finished early when he tore a hamstring four weeks out from finals.
Sam underwent two operations and a pair of realignments during his eight-day stay in hospital and was appreciative to hear of the plans of two Kyabram businesses to support him.
"I was a bit shocked and a bit overwhelmed. It is easy for everyone to feel bad for me, but another to actually do something,“ he said.
Jess Scoble, who opened her Allan St Burnt Butter business four weeks ago, is responsible for organising the appeal,
She didn’t know Sam personally, until she reached out with the idea of running an appeal to help him in a tough time.
The mother of three footballing boys said she had spoken to her husband before deciding to set up the appeal.
“He still has bills to pay, so I decided to do something and then Mustafa from Kyabram Kebabs also came on board,” she said.
For the next month $1 from the sale of every regular coffee and every kebab sold at the two popular venues will be donated to Sam to assist in his recovery.
“If people grab a coffee or a kebab they will be supporting this young man and his long road to recovery,” she said.
She said Sam was very appreciative, which allayed her initial concerns about becoming involved in the appeal
"I am a mum of three boys, so it probably struck a cord with me,“ she said, explaining it could have easily happened to 16-year-old Angus, 15-year-old Isaiah or 12-year-old Regan.
Sam Campbell had played all but two games this season after missing the last four games and the final series of the 2022 under-18 season.
Anyone wanting more information about the appeal can contact Jess Scoble at Burnt Butter in Allan St.
