AFL A Game Unfit For Human Bodies
The AFL has created a game that human bodies cannot actually cope with. How do we know this? Take a look at the number of soft tissue and knee injuries on the playing lists of AFL clubs. AFL a game unfit for human bodies. The evolution of the game has AFL players running at top speed, suddenly stopping, turning, twisting and being tackled. No bloody wonder that human joints and muscles cannot cope with the stress being applied to them under this kind of duress week in and week out. The physical conditioning experts employed by the clubs would know this but their well paid jobs encourage them to stay silent on this issue.
“So, while it appears the League is going through an injury crisis of sorts, numbers through the first half of the season indicate it’s only marginally worse than the previous four seasons.”
AFL Footy Is Too Stressful For Human Joints & Muscles
Aussie Rules football has evolved from being a kick mark game into a high intensity running and impact contest. Supremely fit individuals are sprinting at each other and attempting to elude one another via physical contortions. The stress that this puts on joints and related musculature is immense. The 360 degree nature of AFL makes it different from most other games in that there is no offside rule in place. Players can be tackled and bumped from every direction and there are 36 players on the field at any one time. This makes contact highly likely and difficult to avoid. The speed of modern footy makes the stress levels on the human body extreme.
“The overall injury incidence in the 2015 season was 41.7 injuries per club per season, with a prevalence of 156.2 missed games per club per season. Lower limb injuries are most prevalent, with hamstring strains accounting for 19.1 missed games per club per season. Hamstring strains relate to the volume of high-speed running required in addition to at times having to collect the ball while running in a position of hip flexion and knee extension. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are also prevalent and can result from contact and noncontact incidents. In the upper limb, shoulder sprains and dislocations account for 11.5 missed games per club per season and largely resulted from tackling and contact.”
- (Saw R, Finch CF, Samra D, Baquie P, Cardoso T, Hope D, Orchard JW. Injuries in Australian Rules Football: An Overview of Injury Rates, Patterns, and Mechanisms Across All Levels of Play. Sports Health. 2018 May/Jun;10(3):208-216. doi: 10.1177/1941738117726070. Epub 2017 Aug 21. PMID: 28825878; PMCID: PMC5958447.)
“Competition is the most common context in which footy players are injured. The major causes of injuries to players are, being struck by another player, tackled, collisions, hit by the ball, overuse and falls. Injuries to the thigh, knee, lower leg and ankle are the most common non-hospital-treated injuries. Striking is responsible for causing 28% of injuries, collision causes 21%, while overuse injuries cause 12% of all injuries. Sprains account for 30% of all AFL injuries and fractures 13%.”
Human Bodies Struggling To Cope With AFL Footy
AFL a game unfit for human bodies. Most recently, we have seen the case of an AFL ground, the SCG, unfit for players to be running around on at top speeds. On multiple occasions this years at the SCG viewers have watched AFL players unable to keep their feet due to the slippery surface. Obviously this increases the chances of suffering an injury. This ridiculous situation where million dollar professional athletes are forced to play on a surface which is potentially dangerous is unacceptable. Once again during this game the home side, the Sydney Swans, had two players who suffered injuries which will prevent them playing for some considerable time, an abductor injury and a hamstring strain. The Swans have had up to 10 players on their injury list in 2025 with many of them out for lengthy periods. One has to ask has the parlous state of the ground been a direct contributor to this situation?
It’s The Unsafe Ground Surface, Stupid
What we see here is a contrasting combination of a sport professing to be highly professional, and yet, rank amateur behaviour exhibited in the management of the sporting field/stadium where they play their matches. A disconnect seems to exist in this instance, which has endangered the health and wellbeing of their highly valued players. Both the AFL and the Sydney Swans appeared to be in denial of a season where multiple home games have been marred by players from both teams unable to keep their feet during the match. If players cannot run, turn or kick the ball without slipping over it makes for an unedifying spectacle. Let along the damage it is likely to be doing to the joints and soft tissue of the players. An Andre Bocelli concert held at the SCG has damaged the surface where the stage was erected and the ground failed to recover from this. Ongoing inclement weather exacerbated the problem over months.
“Fox footy commentators have repeatedly questioned the integrity of the surface during matches this year. The contest and the performances of both teams were repeatedly marred by slipping over at crucial times last night in the Sydney vs Carlton clash. It is amazes me that in a multi-million dollar business like AFL we still see stuff ups of this magnitude occurring during seasons. Thousands of peoples livelihoods depend upon the AFL, least of all the careers of these elite sportsmen. A season ending injury could cost an AFL player hundreds of thousands of dollars and teams millions.”
Pre-Season AFL Injuries Telling A Story
Even in the pre-season we are seeing more serious injuries occurring, which must tell us something about how the AFL, as a sport, are going about things, possibly to the detriment of players.
“The Australian Football League (AFL) is no stranger to injuries, but the number sustained so far this pre-season has many fans and analysts scratching their heads.
Whether it be Kangaroo young gun George Wardlaw’s high-grade hamstring tear, the trio of long-term injuries to important Saints, Nic Newman’s nasty ruptured patella tendon, Todd Marshall’s ruptured Achilles, or any number of other injuries sustained thus far in the men’s competition, we’re all looking for answers.
Are players training too hard or too often? Is the earlier start to the season having an impact? “
The Media’s Role In All Of This
AFL a game unfit for human bodies. The AFL media has never been larger or more vociferous. Whether it be Kane Cornes or David King loudly berating clubs, players or the AFL itself, this never ending story has consequences and ramifications. The more economic stake holders you get piling onto the product the greater the likelihood of deaf ears not responding to crises calls. Radio stations, pay TV, newspapers, free to air TV and the online juggernaut are all invested in the AFL as entertainment fodder. Sponsors are another big money factor pumping up the million dollar player salaries with their own ROI expectations. Sports betting companies are big players in this space, of course, as well. Young men and women are playing their hearts out for their clubs and risking their long term physical health too. The game is getting faster and more demanding every season. The chance of a serious injury is very high in probability. The media calls for more, as it has employed a legion of past players as judge and jury to comment on performances 24/7. It is a recipe for disaster, a bit like the ancient times’ gladiators in the arena, where loud calls for more action sacrificed them for sport and entertainment. It will be interesting to observe the long term outcomes for these players post-retirement from AFL.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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