The AFL's pre-season structure has come into question following an unusual amount of injuries that have seemingly plagued the competition.
League CEO Andrew Dillon has admitted that there's hysteria around the constant news of players being ruled out of pre-season clashes, and in some cases, the opening rounds of the 2025 season.
But, as Dillon posed, are there more injuries than normal? Or is there a greater focus on pre-season?
"Any injuries, you'd prefer not to have. What I'd like to do before we jump anywhere is make sure we get the data," Dillon said on Wednesday at the 30th-year celebration of Auskick.
"Is it just that there is so much focus now on our pre-season, are we getting more things reported on or not, or will the data tell us we have more injuries?
"If it does, we'll certainly look at it, but I wouldn't want to jump ahead of getting to the end of pre-season and seeing what the data tells us.
"Anecdotally, or what I'm seeing, it seems like some clubs are having a great run, and some aren't, and that's unfortunate for those clubs."
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Some clubs have been hit hard, with players falling victim to soft-tissue injuries that have caused the length of pre-season to be questioned.
The Western Bulldogs have five players who will miss the opening rounds due to injury, with Cody Weightman the most recent to be ruled out as the club scrambles to fill the void.
Controversial commentator Kane Cornes made a protestation that players get "too much time off and the lack of preparation is leading to this significant spate of injuries".
From the completion of the 2024 season at the end of September, clubs have up to five weeks of training before the turn of the year, which is followed by another five weeks before match simulation and pre-season clashes return to the schedule.
Over the space of five months, players are roughly at the club in structured training for 10 weeks, meaning the onus has then turned to the players to remain fit and healthy during their time away.
The reduced time players spend at clubs coupled with the lengthened season are seemingly having a negative impact, resulting in unforeseen levels of injuries.
But until drastic measures of shortened quarters, increased list sizes or reduced breaks between each club's final match and the beginning of pre-season, the AFL could face ongoing problems.
