THE AFL has today released the Injury Reports for both the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership season and 2023 NAB AFLW Season.
AFL General Counsel Stephen Meade said the health and safety of players at all levels of the game remains the top priority of the AFL.
"Our injury prevention programs and commitment into research continues to be a priority for the AFL, along with the continued education of our coaches, players and support staff," said Mr Meade.
2023 AFL injury report
Total injury incidence was 34.9 new injuries per club per season which is a decrease from the 2022 season (44.1 new injuries per club per season).
The most common injury categories causing missed matches in season 2023 included hamstring strains, concussions, calf strains and medical illness.
Injury prevalence was the lowest it has been in the past 10 years, with 135.7 matches missed per club per season and sits below the season average over the same period.
Hamstring strains resulting in missed matches presented the highest incidence of all the injury categories in the 2023 AFL season (4.71 injuries per club per season). The incidence of hamstring strains in 2023 decreased compared to the 2022 (5.19 injuries per club per season) and 2021 (6.12 injuries per club per season) seasons. On average, hamstring strains resulted in 14.34 missed AFL matches per club during the 2023 season.
Concussion was the second most common injury in the 2023 AFL season with an incidence of 4.26 injuries per club per season. Concussions causing matches to be missed were similar in 2023 compared to 4.66 in the 2022 season. Concussions resulted in 9.89 matches missed per club per season in 2023 compared to 10.56 in 2022.
Data from the concussion audit shows that the incidence of all concussions (regardless of whether a match was missed or not) remains relatively stable (6.66 per 1000 player hours) compared to previous seasons.
The concussion audit includes all medically diagnosed concussions that occur during the season, regardless of whether a match was missed. This figure therefore includes concussions that occur in the last game of the season, or in a game before a bye, where the injury would not traditionally appear in the injury report figures.
The AFL continues to invest in, and support, research into concussion. There have been more than 30 rule changes, and there are more than seven full time employees working at the AFL in this space, across research and education. In addition to the funding already committed, player MRO fines accumulated across the season go directly into concussion research.
2023 AFLW Injury Report
The total injury incidence (number of new injuries resulting in missed matches per club per season) was 12.3 new injuries per club in 2023. This number remains consistent over the past few seasons. The most common injuries that resulted in players missing matches were concussion, ankle injuries, ACL injuries and shoulder injuries.
The overall injury prevalence decreased to 36 matches missed per club compared to 46.8 in Season 7 in 2022.
The concussion audit reports the overall incidence rate of concussions sustained in matches to be 5.85 per 1000 player hours in the 2023 AFLW season. This concussion incidence rate has decreased compared to previous AFLW seasons.
The AFL and AFLW Concussion Guidelines for 2022 promoted a graded return to play approach following concussion mandating that a player suffering a concussion must miss one or more matches to accommodate the graded return to play protocol. In following the guidelines, the earliest that a player could return to play after a concussion was 12 days, meaning that players with a concussion were required to miss at least one match.
On average, concussions resulted in 1.78 missed AFLW matches per club during the AFLW season.
The incidence of ACL injuries occurring in matches has continued to decrease with 2.51 ACL injuries per 1000 player hours in the 2023 season.
The overall ACL incidence rate including training injuries hasn't risen over the last four seasons despite the increase in average number of games per club increasing from 6.6. to 11 in 2023. ACL injuries continue to be a leading cause of missed matches resulting in 5.44 missed AFLW matches per club during the 2023 AFLW season.
Other injuries causing the most number of matches missed per club included other leg and foot injuries, ankle injuries and hamstring strains
