Spike in injuries blamed on cuts

ALMOST a quarter of the competition is sitting on the sidelines as the injury toll of the POST-COVID season continues to grow.

An alarming 177 players have been named on the official AFL injury list for this week which equates to around 23 per cent of the entire competition.

Bottom-placed North Melbourne has been the hardest hit with 15 casualties followed by the GWS Giants on 14 while Fremantle and West Coast both have 12 players injured.

The Sydney Swans only have five players on its injury list with St Kilda on six.

There are 11 players out with concussion which is an inflated figure for 2021 because of the AFL’S new 12-day rule.

While the severity of the injuries fluctuates between clubs, there is a growing opinion that changes to the game on the back of a Covid-19-impacted season are behind the spike.

The increase in game time combined with across-theboard cuts to club medical teams because of the AFL-ENforced soft cap reduction are at the top of the list, according to AFL Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield.

“We’ve got work to do. Certainly from a medical side and the care we provide players with, I think every club in the competition has reduced the physios that we have on hand to service players with,” Dangerfield said.

“With that, I think, and it’s still a small sample size, but I think it’s contributed to injuries to a certain extent.

“I would find it very difficult how you could argue the latter when you don’t have as many people to spread the load because you’ve got two physios that have to care for 40-odd players instead of three.

“We understand why the cuts were implemented, but we’ve also got to review it, look back and now take stock.”