Injuries are becoming a bigger problem each season in the AFL.
Players are falling down like flies, with a number of clubs having debilitating injury lists only four rounds into the season.
West Coast’s defence has been annihilated through injury, while the addition of David Swallow to Gold Coast’s injury list adds another quality player to the sidelines that they can ill afford.
The pace of the game has increased to such a breakneck speed, that even the most innocuous of incidents are having a huge impact on the game. Simple turning and propping motions have become the cause of many long term injuries over the last few years.
Injuries have always been an unfortunate part of the game. It seems however that the scale of injuries has increased beyond anything seen before.
The physical demands on players have become so intense that many of them can’t cope. Their minds are willing but their bodies are being pushed to the edge of their human limits and breaking down.
Long term injuries to players such as Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Nick Dal Santo, Tom Liberatore, Pearce Hanley, David Swallow and Eric Mackenzie are just the tip of the iceberg.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the AFL’s injury crisis is that there is no obvious solution in sight. It is this frenzied tempo which plays such a huge role in the ever increasing injury list that also provides the non stop action and the amazing spectacle of today’s game.
One solution that has been suggested is to reduce the interchange cap that currently sits at 120 a match.
120 rotations allows for players to be heavily rotated and have maximal impact and effectiveness when on the ground. It also allows the game to be played at a more intense speed for longer.
The AFL is seriously considering reducing interchange numbers in coming seasons.
Could this be part of the solution?
A reduction in the number of interchanges will see players playing greater minutes on the field. It will also see the speed and intensity of the game decrease as the match wears on and players are not as fresh.
Is it possible that this could help to reduce the injury toll on players?
There is much debate on this, it could simply be that players playing greater minutes on the ground would suffer different types of injuries instead.
As things currently stand, there seems to be no immediate solution to the ever increasing injury toll in the game.
It could just be, for the short term in particular, that the injury crisis is here to stay.
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