Port Adelaide midfielder Tom Rockliff has announced his AFL retirement in a year in which he injured both knees in the one incident and later feared for his life after developing multiple blood clots on his lungs.
The former Brisbane skipper joined the Power at the end of 2017 in search of a fresh start but he wasn't able to reach the heights of his 2014 All-Australian campaign with the Lions.
His 2021 season was derailed in early May when he damaged both of his knees during a game in the SANFL.
After undergoing surgery on both knees, Rockliff was rushed back to hospital a few days later when he developed deep vein thrombosis.
"They found a couple of clots on my lungs which made it all pretty serious pretty quickly," Rockliff told Perth radio station 6PR earlier this season.
"For a period it was a bit like, 'Well, what does this mean, am I dying here?'
"I think It puts a lot of things into perspective when you get news like that, and how serious it can be.
"You start to probably think the worse when you get the alarming news.
"I'm obviously a father and I've got a wife, and I've got another one (kid) on the way."
Rockliff informed his teammates of his retirement on Tuesday morning, bringing an end to his 208-game career.
The 31-year-old was an All-Australian at Brisbane seven years ago before he captained the Lions in 2015 and 2016.
The two-time Lions best-and-fairest winner moved to Port as a restricted free agent before the 2018 season but his career never took off at the Power, despite being able to string together a series of strong displays in 2019 and 2020.
