The AFL today released the fifth annual AFLW Injury Report for the 2021 NAB AFL Women's Competition which showed the lowest observed level of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury incidence since the inception of the competition in 2017.

The incidence of ACL injuries causing at least one match to be missed was 3.22 injuries per 1000 player hours in the 2021 AFLW season, compared to 8.83 in 2020 and 5.14 in 2019.

AFL General Manager Women's Football Nicole Livingstone said the overall injury incidence (number of new injuries per club per season) for the 2021 AFLW season was elevated at 11.1, compared to 7.0 in 2020 and 6.8 in 2019, while injury prevalence (number of missed matches per club per season) in 2021 was 36.7, compared to 24.4 in 2020 and 17.8 in 2019.

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The increases can be attributed to the growing number of AFLW matches each season.

"Player health and safety at all levels of Australian Football remains paramount," Ms Livingstone said.

"The education of coaches, players and support staff is critical to ensure we best-protect and prevent injuries amongst AFLW footballers. We will continue to support research and implement best practice injury prevention programs across all levels of women's football, including the Prep-to-Play program.

"The AFL Female Football Prep-to-Play national injury prevention program is science-based and aims to provide resources to support football coaches and female players enhance their performance while reducing the risk of injury.

"The program has been a key resource for football communities from the grassroots to the elite to implement in their training programs and we will continue to work with La Trobe University to research ways in which we can decrease the incidence and prevalence of knee injuries in women's football."

Concussion incidence – which requires a player to miss at least one match as a result of the injury – grew from previous years (8.27 per 1000 player hours in 2021 compared to 4.76 per 1000 player hours in 2020).

Ms Livingstone said the increase reflects the ongoing conservative management approach of concussions across the competition.

"Following off-season changes to the 2021 AFL and AFLW Concussion Guidelines, the earliest an AFL or AFLW player could return to play after a concussion was on the twelfth day after the day on which the concussion was suffered. As a result, all players suffering a concussion missed at least one match assuming standard fixturing."

The results of the 2021 AFLW Injury Report have a direct impact on the AFL's investment into injury research across all levels of the game, from the NAB AFLW Competition right through to the grassroots level.

"The Report provides information that assists clubs and researchers to continue to investigate ways of reducing injury rates, as well as improving injury management.

"Our aim is to continue to provide players with an environment that is as safe as possible in a contact sport and this data allows us to support ongoing research into injury prevention and management."