Fitness and Conditioning

[Bulldog Joe]

I know it has been raised in the injury thread, but we seem consistently on the wrong end of injury and extended recovery times.

I don't know if this is discussed internally at the club, but our position is diabolical year on year.

This does not seem to afflict our main competitors to the same extent, although we might have a bias in how we see it.

We can put it all down to bad luck, but doing that simply sentences us to continuing bad luck.

I believe a full inquiry is justified.


IF WE KEEP DOING WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE WE WILL KEEP GETTING WHEN WE ALREADY GET.

[Grantysghost]

I agree I am over it, I have no idea why it's happening : bad luck or bad management.
The worst of it is when you lose guys at training to soft tissue injuries, I mean to me that seems completely avoidable.
Keath and English both injured at training leaves me scratching my head.
I get many injuries are just part of the game eg Cody trying to bump a slab of human granite and I don't know the breakdown but it's clear to most of us with an investment in the club that this is a chronic issue.
Fitness staff are probably only second to recruiting in terms of importance to a footy dept. and I just hope our guys are up to the standard required.
It's no surprise the Crows look so fit and strong with Burgess back there this season. They have barely any injuries (Sloane ACL the big one).
From what I've seen of Chris Bell and Matthew Innes from afar they both look like great operators, however I think it's time we had a review internally to consider whether there are things we can do better. Maybe there's not, however as a pro sporting club we shouldn't be leaving any stone unturned in our pursuit of success.

[Bulldog Joe]

I agree I am over it, I have no idea why it's happening : bad luck or bad management.
The worst of it is when you lose guys at training to soft tissue injuries, I mean to me that seems completely avoidable.
Keath and English both injured at training leaves me scratching my head.
I get many injuries are just part of the game eg Cody trying to bump a slab of human granite and I don't know the breakdown but it's clear to most of us with an investment in the club that this is a chronic issue.
Fitness staff are probably only second to recruiting in terms of importance to a footy dept. and I just hope our guys are up to the standard required.
It's no surprise the Crows look so fit and strong with Burgess back there this season.
From what I've seen of Chris Bell and Matthew Innes from afar they both look like great operators, however I think it's time we had a review internally to consider whether there are things we can do better. Maybe there's not, however as a pro sporting club we shouldn't be leaving any stone unturned in our pursuit of success.

We really need to understand where we sit comparatively and find out why.

We couldn't keep Marcus Adams on the park, but Brisbane seem to be doing so much better with him.

[GVGjr]

I think even the best programme's can have some blips along the way. I'm not sure if we are trailing the field, middle of the competition or just a bit out of luck but it's still early days to determine if there is a genuine problem or not.

You would have to think that over the last 2 years Chris Bell and the team have done a good job on getting players onto the park but we are struggling this year. Mathew Inness also seems to have done a good job and had his position upgraded just last year.

I'm really interested to see and hear what we might be able to do in the sports science area to get the most out of the players with their fitness.

[Bulldog4life]

We really need to understand where we sit comparatively and find out why.

We couldn't keep Marcus Adams on the park, but Brisbane seem to be doing so much better with him.

I thought Adams missed the whole of 2020 and further games last season. Not sure Brisbane are doing so much better.

[Grantysghost]

I think even the best programme's can have some blips along the way. I'm not sure if we are trailing the field, middle of the competition or just a bit out of luck but it's still early days to determine if there is a genuine problem or not.

You would have to think that over the last 2 years Chris Bell and the team have done a good job on getting players onto the park but we are struggling this year. Mathew Inness also seems to have done a good job and had his position upgraded just last year.

I'm really interested to see and hear what we might be able to do in the sports science area to get the most out of the players with their fitness.

My memory is we've copped injuries most years including last?
Treloar and Keath definitely had soft tissue. Dunks and Gards impact they're unavoidable although I'm unsure why Dunkley went back on still.

If I get some time I'll try and do some research.

[MrMahatma]

Valid question. Suspect that all parts of the club have KPIs and for conditioning it would prob be matches lost to avoidable injuries or something similar as part of it. There might be some red flags at the moment. But maybe the KPI is about repeat injuries to players rather than one offs? Dunno. And I guess we don’t need to know, but we need to expect that it’s always under review. Doesn’t mean you always make change… but does mean everyone stays curious and striving to be better.

Hard to evaluate coaches currently with a chunk of the best 22 missing.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Questions will be asked but I think not having a reserved going around doesn’t help. You need match fitness and match simulations to manage the loads.

Are we starting way back with the list with the likes of Martin, VDM, OBrien that are all prone to soft tissue injuries. Timmy also still growing into his frame so he is a tough one to manage.

Bont round one did his ankle. He hasn’t been right since. I just don’t know why they don’t rest him straight up as it’s a long season

[bornadog]

I would say we are one of the fittest teams in the AFL. We run out games right to the end and don't seem to get tired, or fatigued as much as some other teams. When you look at Friday night, with one on the bench, plus Gardy struggling we were constantly attacking and had the ball locked in our f50.

As for injuries, that is another issue. Is it perception that we have more soft tissue injuries than other teams? Is it just bad luck or is it our training loads?

Unless there is evidence, it is difficult to tell, but whatever the reason, we have been impacted dramatically.

[Grantysghost]

I would say we are one of the fittest teams in the AFL. We run out games right to the end and don't seem to get tired, or fatigued as much as some other teams. When you look at Friday night, with one on the bench, plus Gardy struggling we were constantly attacking and had the ball locked in our f50.

As for injuries, that is another issue. Is it perception that we have more soft tissue injuries than other teams? Is it just bad luck or is it our training loads?

Unless there is evidence, it is difficult to tell, but whatever the reason, we have been impacted dramatically.

Agree our ability to run out games is very good.

[Happy Days]

Agree our ability to run out games is very good.

That’s only because we conserve energy by taking the 3rd quarter off.

[macca]

When the ball hits the ground and players from each opposition trying to pull it from each other's hands, I have noticed, there is very little kneeling on the ground and try to hold onto the ball. Its more to do with the stupid prior opportunity rule and not wanting to look to drag it in whilst a player is on the ground. this means lots of players now are actually standing up and bent over trying to pull the ball away. I really wonder if this action is creating more stress on fatigued hamstrings? This is my observation in terms of player body movement and body position. Its a really awkward position to be in and I cannot imagine the strain it puts on their hamstrings against opposition player strengths.

The days of at the bottom of the pack are numbered. Its more to see who can pull the ball out of the opposition grasp , turn and dispose to the outside.

[jeemak]

When the ball hits the ground and players from each opposition trying to pull it from each other's hands, I have noticed, there is very little kneeling on the ground and try to hold onto the ball. Its more to do with the stupid prior opportunity rule and not wanting to look to drag it in whilst a player is on the ground. this means lots of players now are actually standing up and bent over trying to pull the ball away. I really wonder if this action is creating more stress on fatigued hamstrings? This is my observation in terms of player body movement and body position. Its a really awkward position to be in and I cannot imagine the strain it puts on their hamstrings against opposition player strengths.

The days of at the bottom of the pack are numbers. Its more to see who can pull the ball out of the opposition grasp , turn and dispose to the outside.

Interesting theory.

I was a bit of a master when it came to pinging hammies, for me it was normally on the stabilising action after an effort that got me. Or too much high intensity met with fatigue.

If it was what you're saying you'd see a pattern league wide, and I'm not sure if that's happening?

[FrediKanoute]

Interesting theory.

I was a bit of a master when it came to pinging hammies, for me it was normally on the stabilising action after an effort that got me. Or too much high intensity met with fatigue.

If it was what you're saying you'd see a pattern league wide, and I'm not sure if that's happening?

The approach is a lot more like rugby union (given that you can't be off your feet in a ruck). If you look at a union player's body shape the forwards tend to have large quad/glutes/hammies.

[boydogs]

I know it has been raised in the injury thread, but we seem consistently on the wrong end of injury and extended recovery times

We could bring them back sooner, but what would their output be like if they weren't 100% ready? What about the chance of reinjury, do we have fewer reoccurring injuries because we are conservative? Does that make us a more attractive club that we take a long term approach to injuries and try and do some preventative work so they don't happen again?

I think what we're doing is intentional rather than a lack of ability to heal players quickly

[Hotdog60]

I realise we've had our injury issues in the past but could this year be a result of a shorter pre season with being in the Grand final.
It would be interesting to see what our injuries were like in 2017.

[bornadog]

I realise we've had our injury issues in the past but could this year be a result of a shorter pre season with being in the Grand final.
It would be interesting to see what our injuries were like in 2017.

2017 we had horrendous injuries and lost quite a few games by playing the youngest team in the AFL