Swans supreme in warding off injuries
SYDNEY’S remodelled highperformance and medical teams have helped the high-flying Swans lose the second-fewest games this season to injury.
The AFL’s number-cruncher, Champion Data, calculates each club’s best 22 players weekly with its AFL Player Ratings.
Sydney lost only 55 games from first-choice players through the first 21 rounds, with only fellow flag contender Melbourne (25 matches lost) having a healthier list.
Injury has handicapped St Kilda (142), Carlton (125) and the Giants (115) the most in 2021.
High performance boss Rob Inness and head of physiotherapy Damian Raper started at the Swans in December, replacing long-serving pair Rob Spurrs and Matt Cameron.
This year’s mostly clean bill of health is a welcome change for coach John Longmire.
“We had a lot of collision-type injuries last year, if you look at (Isaac) Heeney, (Dane) Rampe and (Josh) Kennedy with his knee, and obviously ‘Bud’ (Lance Franklin) didn’t get any games last year,” Longmire said.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries over the last couple of years, but last year particularly from collision-type injuries, or injuries you can’t do a lot about – sometimes you have those runs.
“This year, touch wood, we’ve been in a better space in that way, and it makes such a significant difference, to have the majority of your list to be able to pick from.
“We’ve still got a couple of weeks left in the season, so I’m still a bit reluctant to jump to any conclusions yet – things can change quickly – but that’s been a big focus, to try to make sure we can alleviate those injuries you can prevent.”
Sam Naismith, who is recovering from a second anterior cruciate ligament rupture, Callum Mills (achilles tendinitis) and Jake Lloyd (knee) are the only sidelined Swans this weekend.
The club’s greatest success might be Franklin, 34, who will be rested this weekend after playing 16 games this year.