‘He could have died’: Young Kangaroo recovering from life-saving surgery after Bali dash

“[This was] a serious, very serious life-threatening illness and he could have died from this,” Dr Clay Colledge told 7News.

North Melbourne officials believe Curtis’ fitness and age were critical in allowing him to hang on until the operation with a litre of pus removed from his lungs.

The talented forward, who kicked 38 goals in 19 games in 2026 and finished 10th in the club best and fairest, is considered a chance to play in round one despite his health ordeal.

Curtis said he fought hard as he focused on recovering for his toddler, Elijah.

“I knew I had to be healthy first to obviously provide for him,” Curtis said. “I’m just so grateful for the people that helped me get back to where I am now.”

Geelong’s Mark O’Connor has achieved a boyhood dream, helping his hometown Dingle win a thrilling All-Ireland club Gaelic football final in extra time at Croke Park in Dublin.

Among the crowd of 25,392 spectators were premiership teammates Patrick Dangerfield, Mark Blicavs, Jack Henry and Cam Guthrie. The trio of current Cats made a rushed trip from Melbourne to Dublin to watch the match live.

O’Connor was granted permission to extend his stay in Ireland for the final while the Cats agreed to let the current players make the self-funded trip to be on there for the game and celebrations as long as they flew business class.

They were only expected to miss one training session, while the well-regarded O’Connor has missed about five.

The trip was worthwhile, however, as Dingle launched their trademark comeback to win the match over St Brigid’s by two points after trailing at half-time. Dingle kicked the final three scores in extra time to clinch the thriller, although there was controversy when St Brigid’s were denied a free.

An ecstatic O’Connor told SmallerFishGAA.ie he would be forever grateful to the Cats for supporting him and the club in their quest for victory.

Mark O’Connor (right) in action for Dingle.Credit: Sportsfile via Getty Images

“It feels like a dream to be honest. Looking up and seeing my Geelong teammates sitting next to my family at Croke Park in the red and white of Dingle is probably something I did not even dream of as a kid because it seemed so outrageous,” O’Connor said.

“If they weren’t the way they were I wouldn’t still be in Australia, and I am just so grateful to them.”

O’Connor said it didn’t take much convincing for the Cats to let him play in the final.

“I think the other players probably got into the ear of people around the club because they fully bought into the whole journey,” he said.

“It’s not just that they allow me … it’s like, ‘We’re loving this and we hope you want to do it’. It’s not necessarily a marketing ploy. It’s in their culture to say, ‘We care about what our players care about’.”

O’Connor’s celebrations will be curtailed when he boards a plane on Tuesday to return to Geelong, a premiership player and All-Ireland Senior Club Football championship winner.

Emerging Crows star Dan Curtin suffered a dislocated kneecap at training during a wrestling drill on Monday. That was a positive diagnosis after initial fears he had suffered an ACL injury when he carried from the field on a stretcher after writhing on the ground in agony after the incident.

The 20-year-old had a breakout season in 2025 and is expected to play a key role in the Crows’ attempt to build on their 2025 season when they lost both finals after finishing the season as minor premiers. The Crows are expected to give a formal update on Curtin on Monday afternoon.

Both North Melbourne (Jackson Archer) and Carlton (Jesse Motlop) lost players to serious knee injuries last Monday.