Hunt suffers rare injury at worst possible time

TIM Hunt was about due for an injury.If only he could pick when he sustained it.The Warrnambool midfielder has suffered a potentially season-ending shoulder dislocation just as the Hampden league's finals series has kicked off with the Blues well and truly in the premiership race.``I've been pretty lucky with injuries,'' Hunt said. ``I've never had a serious one before.``It's disappointing but there's not much you can do about it.''The 19-year-old's misfortune came courtesy of a tackle during the first five minutes of Saturday's qualifying final against Koroit at Friendly Societies' Park.``I just got dumped and my left shoulder jarred a bit and pulled up a bit sore,'' he said. ``I couldn't really raise it above my head but I kept playing with it.``At the start of the second quarter I went to tackle someone and it just popped out.''The teenager went to the rooms, where the club doctor tried to put the shoulder back in.``After probably half-an-hour it went back in,'' Hunt said.``It was painful but it wasn't so bad once it went back in.'' An ambulance took the midfielder to hospital, where the doctor told him he shouldn't play for four to six weeks.Hunt is expected to go to the physio today, where he hopes to be told a shorter recovery period is possible.He has enjoyed lining up with the Blues during the past month as he has been free of VFL commitments with Collingwood.``They've had a full list to choose from,'' he said of the Magpies. ``It's been good coming back here because I played all my junior footy with Warrnambool and know all the boys.''Ash McCorkell is also out of Sunday's first semi-final clash with Cobden.He accepted a one-match set penalty for striking Koroit's Brett Harrington.The Hampden league has avoided an intra-city clash with the Warrnambool and District league grand final this Saturday by taking its second semi-final out of town. The HFNL match between Terang Mortlake and Koroit will be played at the Gardens Oval in Port Fairy.Sunday's first semi-final will be played at Friendly Societies' Park in Warrnambool.Saturday's WDFNL grand final between Kolora-Noorat and Timboon Demons is scheduled for the Reid Oval on Saturday.