It's obstacles can only be overcome by the most fortunate of athletes. Often it's those who can place mind over matter, but for the unlucky ones a split second action or decision could end a career.
It's a fate that is all too common. Who can forget Winston Abraham twisting his knee against the Bombers in 2001 or Jason Snell's horrific ankle injury against Melbourne the same year? Both would never return.
Such is the AFL's concern as the game continues to increase in speed, new rules were implemented at the end of this year to curb the number of interchange rotations.
With every club desperate to gain any possible advantage over their opponents, the reliance on having a team of fit players will become even more important with the introduction of the substitute rule.
Gone are the days where a player would sit out a quarter with injury; the pain of breaks, strains and sprains are now regularly treated with the jab of the needle. The long-term effects taking a back seat to the importance of the task at hand.
No team felt the effect of injury more than North Melbourne in 2010, and Channel Seven's new show Damage Control was there to capture the emotion after the incidents and the extraordinary recovery process that would eventually see players putting their bodies on the line again.
North Melbourne star Lachlan Hansen will feature in the first episode of Damage Control on Wednesday from 10.00pm EST on Channel 7.
