Fremantle senior coach Trent Cooper has given another reason why Janelle Cuthbertson should be considered for All Australian honours, revealing that the star defender played through most of the 2021 AFL season with a broken rib.
 
Cuthbertson was Freo’s rock down back with her intercept marking, often limiting the impact of the opposition’s best forwards.
 
She was rewarded for her efforts by being named in the extended All Australian squad of 40, with the final 22 to be named during the W Awards on 20 April.
 
“Janelle Cuthbertson, she’s had a phenomenal year,” Cooper told 6PR.
 
“What people don’t know is that she broke a rib against Gold Coast early on in the year and played on through that.

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“We’re pretty sure she re-broke it again a few weeks ago but we didn’t bother getting it scanned as it wasn’t going to change anything.
 
“There was no way we could drag her off the ground and we couldn’t treat it.
 
“Her year was absolutely phenomenal with what she gave us, particularly when she was carrying an injury for more than half of it.”