Charlie Curnow adjusts a brace on his left ankle during Carlton's training session at Ikon Park on August 31, 2024. Picture: Getty Images

DESPITE an apparent spate of serious injuries over pre-season, the AFL will wait for hard data at the conclusion of the summer training block before looking to make any changes.

Melbourne forward Shane McAdam (Achilles) was the latest player to have suffered a major injury at training, and while the match simulations have had relatively clean sheets, Richmond lost both Hugo Ralphsmith ("moderate" hamstring strain) and Sam Lalor (concussion and broken jaw) against West Coast. 

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"Any injuries, you'd prefer not to have. What I'd like to do before we jump anywhere is make sure we get the data," AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said on Wednesday.

"Listening to some of the media this morning, is it just that there is so much focus now on our pre-season, are we getting more things reported on or not, or will the data tell us we have more injuries?

"If it does, we'll certainly look at it, but I wouldn't want to jump ahead of getting to the end of pre-season and seeing what the data tells us.

"Anecdotally, or what I'm seeing, it seems like some clubs are having a great run, and some aren't, and that's unfortunate for those clubs. But it's a super-long season, and I can't wait for it to start."

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A number of clubs have been heavily affected, including Essendon and St Kilda, while Adelaide, Brisbane and Geelong (Cam Guthrie's perpetually grumbly Achilles aside) have cruised through by comparison.

Notable players to have suffered injuries this pre-season:

Clubs have the option to replace players ruled out for the year through the pre-season supplemental selection period, which closes at the end of the week, and the mid-season draft.