While Pagan wouldn't blatantly blame the quickening of the game's pace for the injury boom, he did say it was time to analyse why so many players were being forced onto the sidelines.
"I don't know if it's becoming too fast but there are a lot more injuries and I think it's time we sit down and digest that and come up with an answer about why this is happening," Pagan said on Monday afternoon before Carlton's training run at MC Labour Park.
Earlier on Monday, Matthews questioned whether the kick-in rule has been a success and voiced his belief that because the speed of the game was being forced to increase, players were more susceptible to injury.
And, following in the same vein as Matthews, Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade on Saturday night revealed the club would investigate why they had lost five players to season-ending knee injuries this year.
The Blues currently have a heavy casualty list consisting of Anthony Koutoufides (fractured hand – four to five weeks), Jarrad Waite (knee – four to six), Brad Fisher (shoulder – five to seven), Troy Longmuir (shoulder – 10 to 12), Paul Bower (knee – four to five), and Justin Davies (back – indefinite).
Pagan joined the chorus in calling for medical experts to convene and work out why so many players are being hit with long-term injuries.
"There are a lot of injuries and I think there needs to be some sort of sit-down and discussion about it," he said.
"Too many good players are not playing the game at the minute, so I think it's time to sit down and say, hang on a minute, why is all this happening?
"Get all the people who really know the reasons why, get all the medicos and people who understand what happens to the human body when it's placed under the pressure it is."
"It's a very fast game, AFL football, and you're horrified when you see people go down with knees and the injuries that are occurring."
