Injuries and success, why do the better teams have so few injuries?

[tigerjoe]

Statistics often mean nothing.

Look at the possesion stats that the half back flankers of most teams generate as they chip the ball around their back 50.
They mean diddly squat!

But injury stats mean alot.

There is no coincidence that Sydney had a dream run with injuries last year and won the flag.
There is also no coincidence that Adelaide and West Coast (to a lesser extent) have had great injury runs compared to Brisbane, Footscray and Richmond.
That is not to say that if any of these teams had fuller lists that they would be challenging the Crows or Eagles.

But why do both those teams have lower injury counts?
Why does Stkilda seem to have injury woes every year?
Why have Melbourne all of a sudden lost a host of their better players?

Our youngsters are showing great promise come the end of this decade, but Richmond would be derilect in it's duty not to examine in fine detail the traininig routines/diet/management of the Crows and Eagle's.
Luck plays some part there is no doubt, but I firmly believe that you make your own luck if you are smart enough.

Get smart Tigers, we are at the start of a new period in the club's history.
The non-victorian teams have dominated the competition since 2001, there is much to learn from them.

 

[the claw]

Statistics often mean nothing.

Look at the possesion stats that the half back flankers of most teams generate as they chip the ball around their back 50.
They mean diddly squat!

But injury stats mean alot.

There is no coincidence that Sydney had a dream run with injuries last year and won the flag.
There is also no coincidence that Adelaide and West Coast (to a lesser extent) have had great injury runs compared to Brisbane, Footscray and Richmond.
That is not to say that if any of these teams had fuller lists that they would be challenging the Crows or Eagles.

But why do both those teams have lower injury counts?
Why does Stkilda seem to have injury woes every year?
Why have Melbourne all of a sudden lost a host of their better players?

Our youngsters are showing great promise come the end of this decade, but Richmond would be derilect in it's duty not to examine in fine detail the traininig routines/diet/management of the Crows and Eagle's.
Luck plays some part there is no doubt, but I firmly believe that you make your own luck if you are smart enough.

Get smart Tigers, we are at the start of a new period in the club's history.
The non-victorian teams have dominated the competition since 2001, there is much to learn from them.

i disagree the crows have had a shedload of injuries this yr and the eagles had heaps last yr and more than their fair share this yr. both these sides have been lucky that they havent copped to many long term serious injurys but they have in the recent past.

 

[GoodOne]

I'm pretty confident there would be a direct link between injury counts (in terms of games lost) and success. With only 38 players on a list, any quantity of injuries in team to better players hits home hard. Even the best teams struggle when they lose a number of better players at once. Alot of the most serious injuries have nothing to do with training management and diets etc. When knees go and legs get broken, there isnt a regime that would prevent that. As far as soft tissue injuries ar concerned I dont think the Tigers have fared too badly.

 

[tigerjoe]

Injury lists as at Round 17:

Adelaide:

Chris Knights quadriceps strain Rnd 12 Rnd 19
Suffered an aggravation of the initial injury
Andrew McLeod foot injury Rnd 16 Rnd 20
Has had a bursectomy to remove a problematic bursae in his foot. Will miss 4 weeks.
Bernie Vince knee injury Rnd 14 Rnd 21
Ben Hart hamstring strain Rnd 18 Rnd 21
Has a chronic history of hamstring injuries but should be back for finals
Brett Burton hamstring strain Rnd 18 Qual Final
Appeared to be a more significant injury and will miss 3-4 weeks
Luke Jericho shoulder injury Rnd 18 End of season


Brisbane:

Jonathan Brown lumbar stress fracture Rnd 10 Indefinite
Lumbar stress fracture confirmed through the sacrum. Test.
Ashley McGrath hamstring strain Rnd 12 Rnd 20
Severe hamstring injury.
Josh Drummond hamstring strain Rnd 18 Rnd 21
Recurrence of a preivous injury
Chris Scott hip cartilage injury Pre-season End of season
Had an arthroscope. Condition not improving and may be unavailable for the rest of the season.
Richard Hadley knee ACL Pre-season End of season
Ruptured his ACL repair when playing for Suncoast Lions pre season.
Nigel Lappin ankle syndesmosis sprain Pre-season End of season
Superior as well as inferior syndesmosis sprain. Opting for surgery to maximise healing and stability. Has not commenced group training and has been mentioned he may miss the entire season.
Pat Garner knee ACL Pre-season End of season
Ruptured his ACL in the last pre season game. Out for the season.
Joel MacDonald knee ACL Rnd 7 End of season
Sustained a season ending knee injury due to contact mechanism. Damaged ACL and MCL.
Anthony Corrie knee ACL Rnd 9 End of season
Corrie injured the knee when tackled by a Fremantle opponent during the fourth quarter at the Gabba.
Mitchell Clark groin injury Rnd 10 End of season
Beau McDonald hamstring strain Rnd 12 End of season
Severe hamstring injury
Jamie Charman shoulder injury Rnd 17 End of season
Justin Leppitsch calf strain Rnd 10 Retired


Footscray:

Daniel Giansiracusa hamstring strain R16 training Rnd 20
Recurrence of previous injury. Injury is more severe than first thought and will miss 4 weeks
Shaun Higgins elbow dislocation Rnd 13 Rnd 21
Faracture dislocation. Will have surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Brett Montgomery calf strain Rnd 15 Rnd 22
Appeared a big injury and in an older player is expected to miss 4 weeks
Luke Darcy knee ACL Last season End of season
Tried to kick the ball across his body and but the leg that he planted on just held firm and his knee gave way. A change of direction mechanism of injury.
Tim Walsh knee ACL Pre-season End of season
Injured when diving on a loose ball in a intra-club pre season game.
Tom L. Williams navicular stress fracture Pre-season End of season
Had surgery on a fractured navicular bone in his left foot. Test this week.
Adam Morgan knee ACL Rnd 3 End of season
Robert Murphy knee ACL Rnd 9 End of season
Damaged his ACL in a tackle last night and will undergo a knee reconstruction.
Mitchell Hahn knee ACL Rnd 12 End of season

Richmond:

Trent Knobel ankle sprain Rnd 11 Rnd 19
Test
Andrew Kellaway hamstring strain R17 training Rnd 20
Surfing injury
Nathan Brown hamstring strain Rnd 17 Rnd 20
Has injured a hamstring and will likely miss the rest of the season given his injury histroy
Brent Hartigan foot injury Rnd 13 Rnd 21
Fractured a bone in his foot playing for Coburg
Will Thursfield knee ACL Rnd 2 End of season
Knee ACL and MCL after a direct blow from the side.
Mark Coughlan knee ACL Rnd 12 End of season
Injured his knee early in the match. Return to the field but was forced off again. Will undergo an ACL reconstruction.
Chris Newman tibial fracture Rnd 13 End of season
Similar injury to Nathan Brown. Had successful surgery and may miss the beginning of next season.
Darren Gaspar knee cartilage damage R17 training End of season
Will likely miss the remainder of the season and udergo athroscopic surgery
Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls fractured collarbone Rnd 18 End of season
Has had surgery and will miss the rest of the season


West Coast:

Dean Cox fractured collarbone Rnd 13 Rnd 19
Had plates inserted and will likely miss 6-8 weeks. Test this week
Matthew Spangher groin injury Pre-season Rnd 20
Mark Nicoski fibula fracture Rnd 14 Rnd 21
Forced from the field, briefly returned before heading to the pine agais revealed a fracture
Adam Hunter knee MCL Rnd 16 Rnd 21
Grade 2 injury and faces at least 4 weeks on the sidelines.
Travis Gaspar foot injury Rnd 17 Rnd 21
Brad Smith knee ACL Last season End of season
Looks like missing the majority of this season.
Damien Adkins tibial fracture Rnd 4 End of season
Broke his leg playing in the WAFL and has been ruled out for the remainder of season



Claw..............which injury list is longest?

 

[GoodOne]

Injury lists as at Round 17:

Surely you have to look at the injuries over the whole year, not just the current list

 

[tigerjoe]

Injury lists as at Round 17:

Surely you have to look at the injuries over the whole year, not just the current list

It's the business end of the season Goodone, the long term injuries are the ones that really kill you because they test your depth.
If you were to look at the whole years injury lists you would find a similar scenario.

 

[the claw]

Claw..............which injury list is longest?

just quickly the things that hit me wheres judd kerr  cousins hunter fletcher embly they have all missed thru injury imsure i missed some i know the lions had 18 on the injured list for awhile hudson the crows mcgregor perrie welsh ricciuto johncock and i know theres more have all been injured. like i said the top 2 sides have had plenty of injuries they have just been lucky they have not had many long term ones.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

You could re-phrase the thread title in many cases to "why are the teams that have so few injuries better?".

 

[Al Bundy]

White Line fever aired an interesting stat tonight depicting the teams that have been able to list a consistant team throughout the year.

This list is like the opposite of this thread with an interesting result.

Bulldogs were the best ! Of all teams have been able to field 14 players who have played in all games this year.
Very different picture imo that is painted about them based on the perception of injuries yet they have been the most consistant in fielding a stable team.

Can't find the list anywhere unless someone can from another site.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

White Line fever aired an interesting stat tonight depicting the teams that have been able to list a consistant team throughout the year.

This list is like the opposite of this thread with an interesting result.

Bulldogs were the best ! Of all teams have been able to field 14 players who have played in all games this year.
Very different picture imo that is painted about them based on the perception of injuries yet they have been the most consistant in fielding a stable team.

Can't find the list anywhere unless someone can from another site.

WB 14 Ad 7
Sy 12 Me 7
Ka 10 Fr 6
Ge 9 WC 6
Co 8 Ri 6
Ca 8 Ha 6
St 7 PA 5
Br 7 Es 4

 

[bigwow]

Surely it's more to do with the nature of the injuries, ie a strain and missing a week or two, as opposed to an ACL or broken leg which means a season, and the quality of the injured player.

There's an article in the Herald Sun today, stating that Richmond has 'lost' 114 games due to injury to players this season so far, and the high number of fractures/breaks that they have suffered. Obviously the medical staff need to have the players drink more milk in the pre season.

The better sides also have superior depth, to cover injuries. Their second tier players, particularly in Adelaide & Perth, are playing in the WAFL or SANFL, which I believe is a better standard than the VFL, so they are better prepared for AFL football. They seem to have much more mature bodies, and have a better preparation, ie they can play two or more seasons at State level, rather than at Richmond, McGaune was forced into senior footy when he's clearly not physically ready.

The Andrew Raines scenario should be the norm, two full seasons at state level, with a taste or two of senior footy, then in his third year in the system, hes phsically , and mentally ready to cut it at AFL level.

 

[Brettstigers]

Stats, stats and more stats. The bullies have the most consistent team maybe because with all their injuries those 14 players have had to play carrying injuries into the game. One thought.

Anyway regardless of who has the most injuries I am most dismayed by the number of injuries for Richmond which will destroy or limit us next year as well as this one. An ACL and a leg break can really be considered two year injuries rather than one. The second year the player plays with frequent time off and uncertain confidence, fitness and form.