NRL injury crisis: Carnage of the 2020 rugby league season revealed
The 2020 NRL season has been crippled by an unprecedented number of injuries as a perfect storm creates havoc and leaves scores of players hurt. PHIL ROTHFIELD reveals every major injury.
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An ambulance pulls up at the SCG on Thursday night to rush champion Sydney Roosters playmaker Luke Keary to hospital. Mitch Aubusson suffers a broken wrist. Lachlan Lam limps off with syndesmosis.
Next door in the Storm sheds, Melbourne winger Suliasi Vunivalu has a fractured jaw. He needs surgery and a metal plate.
This is rugby league carnage. Fewer scrums, fewer penalties and fewer stoppages have increased the intensity of what was already the most brutal body contact footy code on the planet.
The Roosters are already missing Boyd Cordner, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Angus Crichton, Victor Radley, Brett Morris, Anthony Tupou and Sam Verrills and their hopes of a premiership three-peat are fast fading.
Scroll down to see every NRL club’s major injury in 2020.
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That’s $5 million and more than half of their salary cap.
Luckily, Keary is not as seriously hurt as first feared. He’ll be back in two weeks.
Coach Trent Robinson says he’s not complaining, despite the crisis.
“The game’s faster, there’s more ball in play and the intensity gone up,” he said.
“The demands on players have increased by a significant amount but we haven’t had the training time to adjust to it.
“You’ve got to pay the price in some way. We’ve got a better product but more injuries. We’ve just got to get on with it.”
A Saturday Telegraph investigation reveals major injuries to NRL stars have increased by an alarming 69 per cent in two years under the brutal impact of rule changes, fatigue and a tougher playing schedule.
The frightening intensity of the modern game has left 86 players with major injuries (five weeks or longer) this year including shocking concussions, season-ending knee injuries and high-grade muscle strains.
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Sports science experts put the crippling toll down to a number of reasons, including:
# The furious pace of the game, fewer stoppages and more fatigue from the six-again rule;
# Same-day interstate flights and long-distance bus trips that have affected sleep, rest and recovery;
# Moving from isolation training in home gyms in May to full game mode in three weeks;
# No byes or stand-alone Origin weekends to rest and recover from niggling injuries;
# The lack of additional high-performance facilities outside of the bubble; and
# The poor condition of playing surfaces earlier in the year at Campbelltown, Bankwest Stadium and, more recently, in Townsville.
The Roosters are not a one-off. You look at the battered and broken bodies across the NRL.
Most experts believe the COVID lockdown had the most impact on players’ overall preparation.
A three-week mini pre-season was always unlikely to be enough to physically bring the players back to where they were at the end of the actual pre-season.
Gains made during the pre-season were also lost during the break.
The Saturday Telegraph investigation reveals major injuries in the game have jumped from 3.97 each week to 6.64 each round in the last two years.
This week 86 stars are unavailable for selection in comparison to 63 players after round 13 in 2018.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy spoke out after Thursday night’s win over the Roosters.
“I can’t remember an injury toll like the game has got now,” said Bellamy, who also lost Jahrome Hughes to a groin injury, which puts Cooper Johns in line for his NRL debut.
“When people get fatigued they start putting their bodies in the wrong places.
“That’s where you get injuries. It’s something we need to look at. It was like a Mash unit out there tonight, blokes getting hurt, left right and centre.”
NRL physio, Brian Seeney, has been monitoring the statistics all year. He says it’s a combination of reasons, not just the extra physical demands from rule changes.
“No question the injuries are more severe than in previous seasons,” he said. “Too much fatigue can cause injuries. Muscles have a failure point.
“The most common time to do a hamstring or calf is late in the game.
“It’s about finding that middle ground. When there’s no fatigue and big forwards are bashing into each other at full power, that’s also a big risk.”
There’s also the important point that back-up players are coming into NRL starting teams underprepared.
They’re not match hardened because there’s no second-tier football.
The NRL is also monitoring the situation closely.
Superstars of the competition have been missing for long periods.
A mixture of older players and rookies – Cameron Smith, Cameron Munster, Josh Hodgson, Tom Trbojevic, Valentine Holmes and the game’s most exciting youngsters – Bradman Best and Harry Grant.
This is a game that lost champions Greg Inglis and Sam Burgess last year because their bodies could no longer cope with the punishment.
The NRL’s head of football, Graham Annesley, revealed there would be a review at the end of the season.
“Player safety and welfare is our top priority,” he said. “We do everything we can to minimise injuries and help keep them on the field.
“The commission will review all data available and formulate policy accordingly in the best interests of the game and the players.
“This season has been like no other in terms of the impact of COVID-19.
“As part of the injury reporting we will assess the impact of the season suspension after round two and the lay-off until the resumption, the restrictions of the biosecurity bubbles and protocols, the lack of second-tier football for fringe players, and the speed and intensity of the game as it has evolved over the course of the season.”
RLPA boss Clint Newton is on an NRL workloads and balance committee with club CEOs and medical experts, who are examining the latest injury trends.
It is a huge issue because the NRL actually wants to decrease roster numbers from 30 to 28 next year to reduce costs and the salary cap.
On Wednesday night, the injury situation was raised in a phone hook-up with leaders of the RLPA.
“We need to keep an eye on everything that relates to player welfare and injuries and properly analyse the data that is available,” Newton said. “How the players are managed is so important. This year has presented so many variables. We’ve got to be on top of it.
“We’ve had extra travel players have had to endure. The fact they get home in the early hours of the morning and miss sleep. Sleep is a massive factor in recovery.”
The injury issue and questions about the brutality of the game have been regularly raised in recent years but not acted on.
In every position on a football field, player weights have exploded in the modern era.
The great winger Ken Irvine was 77kg in his heyday. Parramatta’s Blake Ferguson is 30kg heavier.
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Knights halfback Mitchell Pearce is heavier than his father Wayne, who was one of the game’s toughest forwards.
Teams are 200kg heavier than back in the 1970s.
A gang tackle these days is three players with a combined weight of 350kg smashing rivals with incredible force.
We’ve seen incidents all season.
The shocking collision when superstar James Tedesco tried to stop battering ram Maika Sivo to protect his try line.
Or the sickening sight of Wests Tigers utility Michael Chee Kam on the ground having a seizure.
Injuries and frightening moments we see every season, but not as regularly as 2020.
TAKING A HEAVY TOLL
Every major injury (5+ weeks recovery) from 2020 season
BRONCOS
1 Jesse Arthars (tibial plateau fracture)
2 Jack Bird (ACL rupture)
3 David Fifita (meniscus tear)
4 Alex Glenn (MCL tear)
5 Matt Lodge (partial ACL tear)
6 Matt Lodge (fractured leg)
7 Anthony Milford (hamstring)
8 Tesi Niu (wrist cartilage)
9 Jake Turpin (tibial plateau fracture)
RAIDERS
10 John Bateman (distal clavicle resection)
11 Emre Guler (ankle fracture)
12 Josh Hodgson (ACL rupture)
13 Corey Horsburgh (Lisfranc injury)
14 Michael Oldfield (broken thumb)
15 Bailey Simonsson (shoulder reco)
16 Sia Soliola (facial fracture)
BULLDOGS
17 Adam Elliott (shoulder reco)
18 Will Hopoate (syndesmosis repair)
19 Chris Smith (partial ACL/MCL rupture)
20 Joe Stimson (shoulder reco)
SHARKS
21 Jackson Ferris (MCL sprain)
22 Andrew Fifita (dislocated finger)
23 Cameron King (ACL rupture)
24 Ronaldo Mulitalo (meniscus tear)
TITANS
25 AJ Brimson (back fracture)
26 Ryan James (ACL rupture)
27 Jonus Pearson (pec rupture)
28 Mitch Rein (PCL partial tear)
29 Young Tonumaipea (MCL sprain)
SEA EAGLES
30 Tom Trbojevic (hamstring strain)
31 Dylan Walker (ankle)
32 Dylan Walker (foot fracture)
STORM
33 Paul Momirovski (finger tendon)
34 Tui Kamikamica (back)
35 Suliasi Vunivalu (fractured jaw)
KNIGHTS
36 Mitch Barnett (neck ACDF)
37 Bradman Best (syndesmosis injury)
38 Jayden Brailey (ACL rupture)
39 Tim Glasby (concussion)
40 Edrick Lee (broken arm)
41 Sione Mata’utia (syndesmosis injury)
42 Andrew McCullough (hamstring avulsion)
43 Daniel Saifiti (PCL partial tear)
44 Connor Watson (syndesmosis injury)
45 Connor Watson (achilles rupture)
COWBOYS
46 John Asiata (meniscus tear)
47 Scott Drinkwater (MCL rupture)
48 Peter Hola (wrist dislocation)
49 Val Holmes (syndesmosis repair)
50 Jordan McLean (calf strain)
51 Michael Morgan (shoulder surgery)
52 Tom Opacic (knee) - Round 13
EELS
53 Kane Evans (calf strain)
54 Oregon Kaufusi (hand fracture)
55 Reed Mahoney (Jones fracture)
56 Ray Stone (hand fracture)
PANTHERS
57 Kurt Capewell (MCL rupture)
58 Charlie Staines (hamstring)
59 Zane Tetevano (back)
60 Brian To’o (syndesmosis repair)
RABBITOHS
61 Tom Amone (partial ACL/MCL rupture)
62 Braidon Burns (patella tendinitis rupture)
63 Ethan Lowe (neck disc ACDF)
64 Liam Knight (ankle sprain)
65 Patrick Mago (pec rupture)
66 James Roberts (pec rupture)
DRAGONS
67 Cameron McInnes (MCL sprain)
68 Tariq Sims (AC joint)
69 Brayden Wiliame (calf strain)
ROOSTERS
70 Mitchell Aubusson (broken wrist)
71 Lachlan Lam (syndesmosis repair)
72 Billy Smith (ACL rupture)
73 Daniel Tupou (syndesmosis repair)
74 Victor Radley (ACL rupture)
75 Sam Verrills (ACL rupture)
WARRIORS
76 Bunty Afoa (ACL rupture)
77 Leeson Ah Mau (pec rupture)
78 Jackson Frei (ACL rupture)
79 Adam Keighran (tibial plateau fracture)
80 Taane Milne (ACL rupture)
81 Selestino Ravutaumada (shoulder)
82 Jazz Tevaga (LCL rupture)
TIGERS
83 Robert Jennings (hamstring strain)
84 Zane Musgrove (Lisfranc injury)
85 Alex Twal (MCL sprain)
86 Billy Walters (ACL/MCL)