IN THE wake of another devastating week on the injury front for some of the game's brightest talents, Tagged co-hosts Sarah Rowe and Sarah Hosking have opened up on the heavy emotional toll of a serious injury.
Western Bulldogs recruit Mua Laloifi and Tiger Montana McKinnon both suffered season-ending ACL injuries in last week's match simulations.
>> WATCH THE LATEST EPISODE OF TAGGED BELOW
On the second episode of Tagged for 2024, the dynamic duo discusses all the big talking points in footy from injuries to the ever-improving standard of AFLW footy.
According to the pair, injuries can have a detrimental impact on an individual both on-field and off-field which the footy public might not always see.
"People don't see what the individual is going through, the person really feels it," Collingwood gun Sarah Rowe began.
"It's the day-to-day stuff, it's worrying about when you're going to get back, you want to see results straight away and you want planning around it," she said.
"You need to dot your i's and cross your t's, you already do that as an athlete but it's an extended version of that."
Players will need to attend various medical appointments and check-ups and their workload and contact hours only increase.
"You have to go to all of these appointments outside football, your workload increases a lot without the good stuff. We all love playing football and playing games, but you're doing it to get back to baseline to then get back to best preparation," Rowe said.
"It feels like you always have a long way to go, watching your teammates go through really hard injuries is also really hard to watch.
"It really takes its toll mentally, physically and also just on your day-to-day life. You can't switch off from it.
"When it comes to injuries it completely consumes you and you worry about it a lot."
Richmond AFLW star Sarah Hosking spoke about how she felt "isolated" during her rehabilitation from a serious hamstring tendon injury late last year, but praised her club's culture.
"There's no doubt that throughout the time in rehab it can be quite isolating," she said.
"I absolutely love Richmond… they feel like a second family. I genuinely feel valued, and I enjoy my time there.
"You feel disconnected from your teammates as well, even though the club and teammates are doing their best to wrap their arms around you," Rowe added.
In fresh episodes of Tagged every Tuesday, Hosking and Rowe will tackle everything from pop culture to the latest footy news.
This week's episode also includes:
- The girls reveal which star player broke their nose!
- Hosko gets serious about the emotional toll injuries can take
- We discuss the ever-improving standard of AFLW footy
- Rowey shares another jaw-dropping story from life outside of footy
- Have we found the unluckiest player in the League?
You can watch Tagged every Tuesday on womens.afl and the AFLW and AFL Live Official apps, and listen to the podcast on your preferred platforms on the same day.
