AFL 2020: Isaac Quaynor’s horror injury sparks illegal stud investigation
It’s been labelled a “freak accident” but the AFL is looking into the reason behind one star’s horrific injury. WARNING: Graphic
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The AFL will investigate whether Swans debutant Sam Wicks wore illegal studs in his boots after a horrific injury to Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor.
The Magpie suffered a deep gash on his leg in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s game and needed a stretcher to get off the field. The Magpies won the game 6.14 (50) to 6.5 (41) at the Gabba.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE BELOW
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Quaynor was trying to make a tackle on Wicks from behind when he fell to the ground. A trainer immediately called for the stretcher.
Initially commentators thought it must have been a broken leg but instead the 20-year-old suffered a 20cm gash that ran down the front of his shin.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley questioned whether Wicks had metal studs in, which would have been illegal.
AFL regulations state: “Metal stops on boots are not permitted to be worn during a match.”
“Isaac actually tackled a kid whose studs sort of raked across his shin and actually split his shin, six to eight inches, completely open. It was bad luck,” Buckley said in his post-game press conference.
“The kid could’ve had metal studs in as well so, that was just bad luck, tackling the only kid that had that.”
The Swans said Wicks was wearing “standard issue screw-in” studs but the Herald Sun reports the youngster may have been using a hybrid boot featuring a mix of metal and standard studs.
Speaking on 3AW radio, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said: “It’s against AFL regulations, clearly, to have metal stops.
“The umpires don’t (check), because there’s boot studders and multiple staff. But I think the clubs and the individuals need to be accountable for not having dangerous footwear and steel stops in the regulations are deemed to be that.
“I don’t know if he did (wear metal studs) or he didn’t. That’s obviously being worked through this morning.”
Buckley said Wicks would be out for “a couple of weeks” with the injury, but “it’ll depend on how you can clean the wound and heal that up”.
Asked again late in the presser, Buckley added: “In the end, it’s just bad luck. I haven’t heard of that happening in all my time in footy. Pretty sure studs pierce the skin periodically but you’d never see what happened to Isaac ever. Because we don’t see it that often, we don’t exactly know where that will settle but he was pretty calm for what he’s been through.”
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE
Buckley also hit back at an AFL.com.au reporter who said the Pies coach had levelled a “pretty interesting accusation without evidence”.
“How could I have evidence? It was supposed by a few of our players,” he said. “I’m glad to hear the facts though and that it has been cleared up …”
Swans coach John Longmire didn’t know what had happened but the Swans have since confirmed that he had “standard issue boots but had a combination of metal and plastic studs”.
Channel 7’s Tom Browne confirmed the studs were “standard Nike screw ins” which are “in common use”.
Going down the rabbit hole of metal screw-ins on boots. The AFL is clear in its rules that players aren’t allowed metal studs. But lots of boots used by players have them including the ones Sam Wicks wore unwittingly gashing Quaynor’s leg pic.twitter.com/R1IF4TrbTw
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) August 6, 2020
The Herald Sun reported the AFL was set to investigate the issue further following the horror injury with no comment until Friday.
It was a bad night for injuries for the Magpies. Adam Treloar suffered a hamstring injury while Will Hoskin-Elliott also copped studs to the knee and bone bruising.
Originally published as AFL 2020: Isaac Quaynor’s horror injury sparks illegal stud investigation