The Eaglehawk full-forward was given the bad news on Tuesday after scans on his injured knee revealed a strained medial ligament.

The Hawks’ premiership hero faces at least six weeks on the sidelines.

“I’m pretty shattered, to be honest,’’ Gretgrix said on Tuesday.

“I’ve done the medial and there’s some bone bruising as well. The only good news is that my ACL is fine.”

Gretgrix kicked 82 goals this season, with last Saturday’s game against Sandhurst, where he was injured in the first quarter, the only game he failed to kick a goal.

It was a fine season by the veteran forward, who had been written off by many after spending last year with Mt Pleasant in the Heathcote District Football League.

“I knew I had to put my head down and bum up after I let down Eaglehawk when I left last year,’’ Gretgrix said.

“I know that I let down Mt Pleasant as well when I left there, but I had to come back to Eaglehawk to right the wrong.

“I wanted to do as much as I could and I got my body going as good as I could. It was nice to kick a few goals.”

Gretgrix’s injury is a cruel blow to Eaglehawk’s finals campaign.

With doubts on the fitness of forwards Jarrod Findlay and Sean Williams, Borough coach Luke Monaghan has some work to do ahead of Sunday’s elimination final clash with Kyneton.

“It’s disappointing because Gerta has been really good this year and he’s a proven performer in the finals,’’ Monaghan said.

“He’s averaged four goals per game against the good teams, so we need to fill that void this week.

“We have good depth at the club, so I’m confident we can get the job done. I’m expecting other players to step up.”

Gretgrix said talent wise the Hawks are as good as any team he’s played with at Canterbury Park.

“It’s disappointing that we haven’t been able to beat a top three team because at the start of the year I thought we had a team that could challenge for the flag,’’ Gretgrix said.

“I thought it was one of the better teams I’ve played in at Eaglehawk. It shows how strong the top three teams are.”