Sydney Swans v Western Bulldogs AFL Round 16: Live updates, SuperCoach scores, teams

Nick Coffield is no stranger to injury, but the 2025 pre-season was one of the toughest battles he’s fought with his body over his career. He opens up to Ed Bourke about it.

“Pop” went the left quad.

Before Nick Coffield could process what had happened, he felt the same sensation through his right quad as well.

With just two strides during a November pre-season training session, the Western Bulldogs defender found himself back in familiar territory among the rehab group, this time trying to rebuild his body following an “unheard of” injury.

“My summer was an absolute shocker … about two weeks into the pre-season, I did both my quads at the same time,” Coffield said.

“That stung me for probably six or seven weeks over the Christmas break, and from there it was just a raft of little soft-tissue injuries.

“None of them were really catastrophic in isolation, but there was a little adductor and a couple of hammies that were both one or two weeks … when you’re trying to build back up, that makes things really tough.”

Nick Coffield had hoped to start the last year of his deal at the Western Bulldogs firing on all cylinders. Instead, he was left coming to terms with a rare dual quad strain. Picture: David Crosling

The former No. 8 pick had 16 disposals and 10 marks (including four intercept grabs) in his first AFL game for the season against Richmond on Sunday. Picture: Michael Willson / Getty Images

Coffield was ready to speak about his summer ordeal after a rock-solid return to senior level in the Western Bulldogs’ 79-point win over Richmond on Sunday.

The 25-year-old won his spot back in a full-strength Bulldogs backline after quietly stringing together six consecutive games at VFL level – his equal-longest run of matches at any level since 2021.

He had 16 disposals and a team-high four intercept marks as the Bulldogs defence conceded a miserly eight goals for the game.

Coach Luke Beveridge said there was a collective “sigh of relief” from the club after the versatile defender made it through his comeback unscathed.

Coffield’s performance meant the Dogs’ match committee resolved to back him again off a five-day break against Sydney on Friday night.

“It’s awesome, mate … great to get the win, but personally, it’s one of those things where you spend so much time in rehab as I have done the last few years, and you do question whether you’re going to get back healthy, and back in the side,” Coffield said.

“It had been a long road since my last game, but I was happy to get back out there, and just play my role and have a bit of an impact.

“I think versatility is probably a strength of ours as a backline – Bailey Williams, Jimmy O’Donnell, Lobby (Rory Lobb) can all play tall and small, so we can play the system that we want to.”

A pre-season ACL injury ruined Coffield’s 2022 before subsequent soft-tissue injuries wiped out his entire next season, leading the former No. 8 pick to seek a fresh start at Whitten Oval.

He went down with a shoulder injury just moments into his second game at the Kennel, with surgery wiping out three months in the middle of last season.

Coffield (right) finished fifth in St Kilda’s best and fairest after a stellar year in defence when the Saints made a semi-final in 2020. St Kilda took Hunter Clark (left) with pick 7 and Coffield with pick 8 in the 2017 draft. Picture: Michael Dodge / Getty Images

Coffield, as much as anyone else, has had to remind himself what an instrumental player he was in St Kilda’s Covid campaigns, which included a thrilling three-point elimination final win over the Bulldogs during the Saints’ enjoyable “Noosa hub era” under Brett Ratten.

“My mindset around being injured and on the sidelines is something I’ve had to work on a lot … I’ve known it all too well, the last few years.”

“I went to London to see my brother and sister over Christmas (after the quad injuries) … that helped to take my mind off what was going on back here, and I came back really refreshed.

“Those finals (in 2020) help drive me, for sure … even though the crowds weren’t at capacity, it was a great experience.

“Hopefully our form can continue, I can keep playing my role in the side and we can get back there (to September).”

Follow all the action and SuperCoach news once the game in the live blog below.

Originally published as Sydney Swans v Western Bulldogs AFL Round 16: Live updates, SuperCoach scores, teams