Injury management

[Ludwig]

Great post Ralph, I was considering starting a similar thread myself.

I understand that every team has injuries, its the nature of the game, but from an unqualified outsiders perspective there just seem to be so many missteps in this area at our club in recent seasons.

In addition to the players you listed, there's also Ling and Durack Tucker who have barely been on the park in their time at the Swans.

Naismith and Tucker have lost 2 full seasons on knee reconstructions in an age when players are getting back on the park faster than ever

I wasn't expecting Naismith to return at all this year, so he's done better than I expected. Although he's missed nearly 2 full seasons, ACL injuries seem to take longer to recover for AFL than other sports and this seems especially true for big men (think NicNat).

The situation with Ling seems just a case of bad luck, having a couple of injuries that can been played through when not too serious, but often end in surgery. In Ling's case, he had the turf toe (ligament injury) last year and a plantaris tendon injury this year. Evidence would suggest that he was allowed to play with these injuries until the medicos decided that he wasn't going to recover without surgery. If you look through team lists, you will find lots of cases where players go through several years suffering a variety of injuries. I'm very disappointed with Ling's situation and hope his luck changes. I don't want to regret for the next 10 years not taking Ed Richards in the draft

Tucker was recovering from an ACL injury from last year and I think he was near the end of his rehab when he had a serious hamstring injury. The club has released nearly no news on Tucker all year, nor could I find any news articles about it. Sometimes local papers report of these things and you can get more information than you do from the club. We probably won't hear anything until the end of the season when a decision is made to either delist him or extend his contract another year.

[Mel_C]

Alistair Lynch played one more year (2004) after his 10-year contract (1994 to 2003) was complete. He was 36 yo in that last year, and Buddy will be 35 when his contract finishes in 2022.

So there is precedent.

Mind you, I hope Buddy doesn’t ‘play’ in the same manner as Lynch in his last match!

As long as it's a Grand Final and we win!

[stevoswan]

Given what's happened with Sinclair and Cunningham, and particularly the case of Dale Morris over the weekend, I hope we don't rush Naismith back into the 1s prematurely. I rate him and want to see him back out there asap, but I feel the risks by far outweigh the benefit of bringing him back in this week.

Naismith had a full reco and has got through a game whereas Morris let his heal naturally with his leg in a brace 24/7 for the first month and rehab for the rest.....I suppose he did play in the VFL but I suspect Naismith has had a more complete recovery.....time will tell.

[dejavoodoo44]

Reading through the AFL injury list, I noticed that Scott Thompson is still out with a ruptured testicle. In regards to his estimated return, he's listed as; test. Hmmm, how would you test a ruptured testicle?

[Legs Akimbo]

Reading through the AFL injury list, I noticed that Scott Thompson is still out with a ruptured testicle. In regards to his estimated return, he's listed as; test. Hmmm, how would you test a ruptured testicle?

Squeeze it and see if it ruptures again. I think there is a hawthorn player who has the necessary experience to conduct the test.

[dejavoodoo44]

Squeeze it and see if it ruptures again. I think there is a hawthorn player who has the necessary experience to conduct the test.

"On a scale of one to ten, I want you to tell me the difference in sensation, between the left testicle and the right testicle".

[Blood Fever]

Reading through the AFL injury list, I noticed that Scott Thompson is still out with a ruptured testicle. In regards to his estimated return, he's listed as; test. Hmmm, how would you test a ruptured testicle?

If he returns, do you reckon he has the balls to get through the game?

[dejavoodoo44]

If he returns, do you reckon he has the balls to get through the game?

I don't know, but for some reason, I'm now humming the Colonel Bogey March.

[Nico]

If he returns, do you reckon he has the balls to get through the game?

One needs to go through a decent hit to the knackers to appreciate what he is going through.

[dimelb]

I don't know, but for some reason, I'm now humming the Colonel Bogey March.

... that's all the band could play ...

[S.S. Bleeder]

Alistair Lynch played one more year (2004) after his 10-year contract (1994 to 2003) was complete. He was 36 yo in that last year, and Buddy will be 35 when his contract finishes in 2022.

So there is precedent.

Mind you, I hope Buddy doesn’t ‘play’ in the same manner as Lynch in his last match!

If it's in a winning grand final, who cares?

[S.S. Bleeder]

Reading through the AFL injury list, I noticed that Scott Thompson is still out with a ruptured testicle. In regards to his estimated return, he's listed as; test. Hmmm, how would you test a ruptured testicle?

Ouch. Can't think of a more deserving player though.

Does anyone remember the injury that Brereton suffered? That would be worse. I think he missed a few weeks from memory.

[Bloods05]

If it's in a winning grand final, who cares?

It wasn't. Lynch's "performance" in the first quarter set the tone for the way Brisbane played that day.

[S.S. Bleeder]

It wasn't. Lynch's "performance" in the first quarter set the tone for the way Brisbane played that day.

That's not what I said. Read it again.

[Bloods05]

That's not what I said. Read it again.

I didn't say you did. I was making the point, perhaps a little too obliquely, that when players lose control like that, it has a negative effect on the team. So we should care.