Re: AFLW injuries
Reply #6 –
What little I saw of her she was a real goer.
The girls are in that "unsweet spot" of many amateur sportspeople that can't support themselves through their sport, and need to have other work. I would not like to see this injury trend continue, and hopefully solutions can be found, sooner rather than later. Hopefully, as you say, all that is required is a longer pre season.
Well they aren't amateur, and I suspect that is why there is a spate of injuries. Being semi-professional they are in that transition zone where strength and durability are probably mismatched at the moment. It might certainly be a problem with the way the competition is structured.
Reminds me of doing jobs around the house at the weekend, not being a hardened tradesmen if I swing hammers for a few hours I feel it for a few days. The girls are sort of in the same zone at the moment, doing a professional job but as part-timers.
Also, have you noticed how the level of impact and collisions have gone up week by week. Last weekend our game with Melbourne the girls didn't leave much in the tank when it come to head on collisions. I realise they are not as big or as fast as the guys but the level of effort is getting there, they all want to play finals.
On the income front, one would imagine there is some significant insurance being taken out by the AFLW and the clubs in regards to loss of income. The AFLPA would have a large say in this aspect of the new competition, and if I recall this and the medical and insurance costs were one of the points raised as to why the girls can't poop the new nest by asking for too much money from the start-up.