The physical nature of the game itself puts a heavy strain on players’ bodies which, in turn, makes their recovery and conditioning so critical.
Lions superstars Simon Black and Luke Power are two of the very few players who has been able to remain durable throughout a long and successful career.
Black has received close attention from opposition taggers for more than a decade, yet his professionalism and commitment to game preparation has meant that he has missed just 11 games through injury over the past 10 years. Similarly, Power has missed just 11 matches in the past nine seasons.
But then there are those types of injuries which can only be deemed ‘unlucky’ - and the Lions have certainly had their fair share so far in 2011.
What has made an even greater impact on the Club is the fact that the injuries have been dealt to the team’s key leaders.
At the beginning of 2011, a new-look line-up of Lions’ leaders was announced with Mitch Clark, Tom Rockliff and Josh Drummond becoming part of the official Leadership Group which already included Jonathan Brown, Daniel Merrett and Jed Adcock.
The Lions suffered their first major setback o0f 2011 just after half-time in Round One against Fremantle when an accidental knee hit Brown in the face during a marking contest. The resultant facial fractures kept the Lions skipper sidelined for the next eight weeks.
Daniel Merrett and Jed Adcock helped lead the way on the field in Brown’s absence, with Merrett widely tipped as an All-Australian fancy at full-back. Yet the Lions defender discovered a fracture in his back after the team’s Round 11 match against Sydney and is now facing an 8-10 week rehabilitation.
One week later, Adcock underwent surgery on a broken finger which also has him currently watching from the stands.
Of the new leaders, Drummond has managed just three senior matches due to a combination of knee and quad injuries while Rockliff sat out two weeks with a calf complaint.
Clark is the most recent of the Leadership Group to be felled by injury after the athletic utility looked to badly injure his ankle last Saturday night against Richmond. While the extent of the injury is still yet to be determined, it was bad enough for Senior Coach Michael Voss to immediately rule him out of the Lions’ next match.
Last season painted a similar picture.
Adcock (foot/quad) missed a total of 13 matches while Brown (abdominal) and Merrett (hamstring) each missed six matches. Even Black (four matches) and Power (one match) spent a brief stint on the sidelines.
In fact, on only four occasions throughout the 2010 season did all five of the Lions’ leaders play in the same game - in Rounds 1, 2, 19 and 21. It is probably no coincidence that the Lions won all four of those matches.
The six members of the 2011 Leadership Group are still yet to play a match together this season and it seems unlikely to eventuate considering Merrett’s lengthy rehabilitation period.
It has been an unfortunate set of circumstances.
The Lions’ Physical Performance team have remained diligent in limiting matches missed with soft tissue injuries, but little can be done to prepare for impact injuries such as facial fractures, fractured vertebrae and broken fingers.
Senior Coach Michael Voss remains pragmatic with the Club’s injury situation and refuses to use it as an excuse for their current ladder position.
“That's just the lie of the land," Voss said after losing two more players through injury during Saturday night’s loss to Richmond.
While these injuries have no doubt frustrated the players, coaching staff and supporters, it has presented some of the younger players with an opportunity to gain some valuable senior experience.
The Club has already used 35 players in 2011 and blooded nine debutants including 19 year-old Patrick Karnezis who kicked two goals in his first ever match last Saturday night.
But the Lions certainly aren’t the only side to be battling injuries to key players this season.
This week’s opponent Fremantle have also been dealt a number of cruel blows with stars David Mundy and Aaron Sandilands among those who have missed extended periods.
