{"id":89931,"date":"2026-09-07T07:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T07:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/89931\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T07:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T07:05:09","slug":"adelaide-hero-josh-rachele-reveals-he-nearly-missed-elimination-final-with-bout-of-gastro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/89931\/","title":{"rendered":"Adelaide hero Josh Rachele reveals he nearly missed elimination final with bout of gastro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adelaide<\/a> hero Josh Rachele has revealed he was struck down by a bout of gastro in the lead-up to Saturday night\u2019s elimination final win over the Western Bulldogs<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Rachele was \u201cpretty crook\u201d the night before the match and was only passed fit to play just hours before the opening ball-up. <\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Josh Rachele\u2019s gutsy performance amid bout of gastro<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

The star forward, who finished with three goals, admitted it was a struggle to get through the game. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe lead-up wasn\u2019t too good. Had gastro for a couple of days going into the game. So was pretty crook,\u201d he told 7NEWS. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven the lead-up to the game, I felt I was touch and go to play. I don\u2019t think many people knew that heading into the game. <\/p>\n

\u201cThought I would just try to grit through and once you\u2019re out there and the adrenalin rush. <\/p>\n

\u201cHalf-time I felt pretty crook but was able to continue on and still play my role in the end, which I was proud of.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Rachele has revealed he was struggling with gastro in the lead-up to last week\u2019s elimination final. Credit: Getty \/ Seven<\/p>\n

Rachele added that his dehydration didn\u2019t help the situation, but leant on the support from coaches and teammates, as well his mind to block it out and still contribute to the victory. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty gassed, especially the first 5-10 minutes of every final, the intensity is crazy compared to the home and away season,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt pretty exhausted, I was pretty dehydrated going into the game. The mind is a pretty crazy thing when you can put your mind to something you can get it done. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lof of belief from my coaches and teammate to kind of push me through, which helped a lot during the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Adelaide\u2019s players aren\u2019t subscribing to the theory they tossed the proverbial monkey off their back with their elimination final victory.<\/p>\n

Key forward Darcy Fogarty says the win over the Bulldogs merely reinforced a belief that the\u00a0Crows\u00a0belong in the finals.<\/p>\n

The 22-point triumph over the Dogs was Adelaide\u2019s first finals win since 2017 and followed a straight-sets exit from last year\u2019s series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always had the belief going in for the last 12 months,\u201d Fogarty told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the belief last year but things didn\u2019t quite pan out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in terms of a monkey off the back, I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had really strong belief that we\u2019re able to play this time of year and play some good football so it\u2019s pleasing that we won a final, but it wasn\u2019t really a scare for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelaide\u2019s players revelled in a win that eased pressure on coach Matthew Nicks, whose tenure reportedly hinged on downing the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Nicks, with victory assured in the last minutes of the elimination final, was given a standing ovation from a raucous Adelaide Oval crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty special. I think the support that everyone showed for Nicksy was really warranted,\u201d Fogarty said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019d had a stressful week leading into it and the way the boys played shows that we\u2019re all behind him, we\u2019re all on his side, and he\u2019s doing an unreal job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what is so impressive about Nicksy, he\u2019s very calm and cool-headed and he doesn\u2019t let those things get in the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got one job at focus and that\u2019s playing good football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fogarty said the\u00a0Crows\u00a0collectively had rapidly switched focus to playing the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in a Saturday night semi-final.<\/p>\n

The reigning premiers were thrashed by 53 points by Sydney in a qualifying final.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll obviously review them in the coming days and I\u2019m sure there\u2019s going to be some big takeaways from the Sydney game,\u201d Fogarty said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we match up against them a lot differently than Sydney do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can read into a little bit of recent form, but at the end of the day it\u2019s probably more important about how, one, we want to play our brand football and, two, how we match up against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 with AAP<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

AFL set to announce game-changing new training rules<\/p>\n

4 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Change looms at Dogs after \u2018alarming\u2019 sign during finals defeat<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

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