Exclusive: Dave Hughes is considering making a shock return to the football field less than a year after a horrific AFL collision left him in intensive care.
The 54-year-old was left with five broken ribs and a punctured lung after a brutal on-field collision at last year’s AFL Legends charity match.
Dave Hughes talks to nine.com.au about returning to the AFL field Nine
But now the father-of-three tells nine.com.au that not only has he been asked to return, but he’s considering going ahead with it – that is, if his wife Holly gives the go-ahead.
“I’ll probably play again this year, to be honest,” he says with a wry smile.
“They’ve asked me to do it. I haven’t gone completely across the line yet with my wife, but you know, we’ll see.”
The injury occurred in late August during the annual AFL Legends match at Marvel Stadium.
As the oldest player on the turf, Hughes endured a bruising impact early in the Thursday night game but pushed through the pain to finish the match.
His wife Holly then drove him to the hospital in the early hours of Friday morning and the shocking extent of the damage was realised.
“I remember lying on the ground with 30,000 people laughing at me,” he recalls. “They didn’t realise I had broken ribs. Why I got up and kept playing was pretty crazy.
The comedian and broadcaster was put in intensive care after an AFL charity match went wrong. Supplied/@The Fox
Hughes broke five ribs and punctured a lung during the match. Getty
“I wanted to be an AFL star as a kid; it didn’t happen for me, so I didn’t want to miss this moment of 30,000 people watching me play footy. And for that, I nearly let 30,000 people watch me actually die. It was pretty silly.”
While he’s aware of the seriousness of what happened, his new mantra in life is actually one from his daughter.
“One of my daughters has got a poster on her wall that says: ‘Do it for the plot.’ So whatever you do, whenever you say yes, you do it for the plot. Keep moving along.”
It seems that same logic applies to his 19-year marriage to his journalist wife, with whom he shares three teenage children with: Rafferty, Sadie and Tess.
Hughes says the key to his successful 20-year marriage to wife Holly is never keeping score. Instagram /@dhughesy
According to Hughes, the secret to their happy marriage isn’t just a magical spark – it’s the active decision to stop keeping score.
“It’s just stopping, just giving up on the resentments,” he notes, pragmatically.
“Every day you can find a list of reasons to leave your partner. You’ve got to ignore the basics and hope they ignore your faults.
“It is just realising that the grass probably isn’t greener on the other side. You take your own bulls–t wherever you go. You know, get divorced if you want to lose half your stuff. Otherwise, just battle it out.”
For Hughes, the stage has become the ultimate testing ground for his new mental approach to life.
Currently travelling the country for his Cooked stand-up live tour, the comedian admits his carefree philosophy has fundamentally transformed his performances.
“Because of my new attitude of not caring, I’m more relaxed on stage,” he explains. “I’m getting better and better, and loving it more and more.
“If I’m going to be completely honest, stand-up comedy is where I get my real joy, and it always has been.”
Dave Hughes’ new stand-up show, Cooked, is currently touring nationally until the end of August. For tour dates and tickets, visit davehughes.com.au.