Injury Current injured/managed players

[Bombers36]

Couldn't find a thread dedicated to this but given our 2025 injury list I thought it worthwhile to keep tabs on our players who are currently out injured and/or 'managed' heading into 2026. I think right now the following players are not 100% and/or injured;-

Nick Bryan
Nic Martin
Thomas Edwards
Nik Cox
Sullivan Robey
Lewis Hayes

Am I missing anyone..?? Does anyone have any inside intell on when we could expect the above players to be ready to play - i.e. round 1 2026, mid year 2026 etc...

 

[Bombers36]

I think Caddy also is being managed but it's a minor niggle I believe..??

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

 

[Seb78]

So was it a high perfomance issue, or just a select few of injury prone players? Ridley a real concern.

 

[naraku]

How long have they been back training? Two weeks?

That says a lot that Ridley and Langord are struggling already.

I don't think this will have anything to do with Inness either, just our injury prone players.

 

[eth-dog]

How long have they been back training? Two weeks?

That says a lot that Ridley and Langord are struggling already.

I don't think this will have anything to do with Inness either, just our injury prone players.

There will be a number of factors. It's been too prevalent for too long to just be a fitness boss issue.

 

[thebigboy]

“Managed” in November doesn’t tell you much. Full training would be ideal, but after last year they’d be crazy to push anyone before Christmas.

Ridley’s the only bloke that’s a genuine worry seeing that one looks like a proper injury

 

[dank420_]

EFC hangar old graveyard tullamarine

 

[dank420_]

Oh wait this isn’t Google

 

[ghostdog]

Is any of this on Innes telling these guys they're good to train to soon, or giving them loads that are too intense too soon?

 

[ant555]

Is any of this on Innes telling these guys they're good to train to soon, or giving them loads that are too intense too soon?

Lets sack another one then

 

[ghostdog]

Lets sack another one then

I know right?

 

[ant555]

I know right?

Are you really shocked Ridley or Langford are injured ?
Innes does not have a magic wand.
Martin was simply bad luck.
Caddy will be a continual management thing.
They knew Robey had some issues to manage.It was actually our routine scans that picked up a hot spot in his back.
It is not ideal but as I have continually said we simply have a number of injury prone players.
You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

 

[Yoda_]

Are you really shocked Ridley or Langford are injured ?
Innes does not have a magic wand.
Martin was simply bad luck.
Caddy will be a continual management thing.
They knew Robey had some issues to manage.It was actually our routine scans that picked up a hot spot in his back.
It is not ideal but as I have continually said we simply have a number of injury prone players.
You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

not surprised, we simple could not carry the constant injured guys we have had. Big reason im a no on giving Setterfield another contract. Draper misses more than he plays, Langford and Ridley are missing large chunks, at least these two have seriously high ceilings so simply had to keep.

 

[bzparkes]

For those wondering, we had a similar preseason when Innes joined WCE.

The philosophy from Pyke was to basically train players until they 'broke' to understand what they were capable of but to also push their limits.

Queue preseason number 2 and we had almost no injuries and this year, all our players are trai, although some are on a modified program obviously l.

Expect a number of preseason injuries, mostly soft tissue and yeah, it may suck this year.

Next year though, you'll probably have mostly healthy list and your injuries will probably be collision.

 

[JayJ20]

Surely our training ground needs to be reviewed.

If it persists across multiple high performance teams, then something is wrong.

I don't have the facts, but it feels like a lot of our injuries don't happen on gameday.

 

[Bombers36]

So the list on injured/managed players right now is;-

Martin
Jones
Perkins
Ridley
Langford
Caddy
Robey

+Bryan/Hayes/Edwards all returning from major knee injuries

And the 2026 season hasn't even started yet..!!

 

[ghostdog]

Are you really shocked Ridley or Langford are injured ?
Innes does not have a magic wand.
Martin was simply bad luck.
Caddy will be a continual management thing.
They knew Robey had some issues to manage.It was actually our routine scans that picked up a hot spot in his back.
It is not ideal but as I have continually said we simply have a number of injury prone players.
You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

No I am not shocked. Nothing really surprises me anymore.

But hey, I am also no physician. I do know that sometimes when new people come into a work place they arrive full of beans and eager to prove their worth, and sometimes eager to show they are different than their predecessor.

Sean Murphy obviously would have met with Innes to hand over his notes and discuss his thoughts on the players' injuries and recovery, right? ...did that even happen? How would I know?
Innes may or may not have agreed and then proceeded in his new role. I just thought someone may have some knowledge there.

It's not outside the realms of possibility though, is it?

Edit: and I see bzparkes suggestion implies my query about training loads too, so thanks for coming.

 

[MiguelM]

How long have they been back training? Two weeks?

That says a lot that Ridley and Langord are struggling already.

I don't think this will have anything to do with Inness either, just our injury prone players.

Says more about their off season prep to me. Maybe not AFL lifestyle?

 

[ant555]

No I am not shocked. Nothing really surprises me anymore.

But hey, I am also no physician. I do know that sometimes when new people come into a work place they arrive full of beans and eager to prove their worth, and sometimes eager to show they are different than their predecessor.

Sean Murphy obviously would have met with Innes to hand over his notes and discuss his thoughts on the players' injuries and recovery, right? ...did that even happen? How would I know?
Innes may or may not have agreed and then proceeded in his new role. I just thought someone may have some knowledge there.

It's not outside the realms of possibility though, is it?

Edit: and I see bzparkes suggestion implies my query about training loads too, so thanks for coming.

The club has the full injury history. To suggest Innes went in blind or without info or just ignored it is one of the dumbest comments I have ever read. Seriously.

All the players where given individual programs based their history and where they are at in their career. Innes came in well aware of what was needed.

It is actually not unusual to have players on modified programs before Christmas. Last year we had around 12 or so on modified programs.

And if you read bzparkes comments properly it said the following

"The philosophy from Pyke was to basically train players until they 'broke' to understand what they were capable of but to also push their limits."
The philosophy from Scott has not been break them over 1 pre season. It has been to build the load and preparation each season. Every year they have lifted what they have been doing.

What are we really talking about here.

Robey. Pre existing problem picked up by our medical team and dealt with early.

Caddy. Was already on a managed program and was scaled back very quickly. Was always going to be an on going management thing.

Martin. Simply bad luck. Everything he was doing was in the window of recovery. Despite the reports of him being well advanced they where not pushing the window.

Langford. Has a history. Actually has been on his own program with different work loads. Is one that could break as they have to get some work into him.

Ridley. Just gets injured. He has had multiple different programs and ones set up from overseas specialists.

Yes some players will break as they do what every other club is doing and push the boundaries so we can lift the level but that is pretty normal.

 

[ant555]

Says more about their off season prep to me. Maybe not AFL lifestyle?

Says some blokes are simply susceptible to injury.

 

[ant555]

not surprised, we simple could not carry the constant injured guys we have had. Big reason im a no on giving Setterfield another contract. Draper misses more than he plays, Langford and Ridley are missing large chunks, at least these two have seriously high ceilings so simply had to keep.

Agree.
Despite how good Ridley may be my opinion is it would likely to be better for him and the club to go in another direction.

 

[ghostdog]

The club has the full injury history. To suggest Innes went in blind or without info or just ignored it is one of the dumbest comments I have ever read. Seriously.

All the players where given individual programs based their history and where they are at in their career. Innes came in well aware of what was needed.

It is actually not unusual to have players on modified programs before Christmas. Last year we had around 12 or so on modified programs.

And if you read bzparkes comments properly it said the following

"The philosophy from Pyke was to basically train players until they 'broke' to understand what they were capable of but to also push their limits."
The philosophy from Scott has not been break them over 1 pre season. It has been to build the load and preparation each season. Every year they have lifted what they have been doing.

What are we really talking about here.

Robey. Pre existing problem picked up by our medical team and dealt with early.

Caddy. Was already on a managed program and was scaled back very quickly. Was always going to be an on going management thing.

Martin. Simply bad luck. Everything he was doing was in the window of recovery. Despite the reports of him being well advanced they where not pushing the window.

Langford. Has a history. Actually has been on his own program with different work loads. Is one that could break as they have to get some work into him.

Ridley. Just gets injured. He has had multiple different programs and ones set up from overseas specialists.

Yes some players will break as they do what every other club is doing and push the boundaries so we can lift the level but that is pretty normal.

I didn't suggest he went in blind. I literally said it wasn't outside the realms of possibility. You're suggestion that it's impossible is the blind part. Innes is not the messiah.

I also literally said bzparkes' post implied what I'd said about training loads. Ergo, Pyke's method was informed by Innes' professional opinion. Or don't coaches consult with S&C people?

The rest of your reply is just circle work.

 

[ant555]

Surely our training ground needs to be reviewed.

If it persists across multiple high performance teams, then something is wrong.

I don't have the facts, but it feels like a lot of our injuries don't happen on gameday.

It has been reviewed twice and one of the ovals has been resurfaced and is yet to be used so far this pre season.
As far as injuries not happening in games.
Edwards ACL game
Bryan ACL game
Martin ACL game
Draper achilleas . game
Ridley has gone down a few times in games.
Langford soft tissue. Game.
Cox concussion. Game.
Hayes ACL. Game.
Reid hamstring. Game.
A few had repeat injuries at training but nearly all the injuries have their origin in games.

 

[ant555]

I didn't suggest he went in blind. I literally said it wasn't outside the realms of possibility. You're suggestion that it's impossible is the blind part. Innes is not the messiah.

I also literally said bzparkes' post implied what I'd said about training loads. Ergo, Pyke's method was informed by Innes' professional opinion. Or don't coaches consult with S&C people?

The rest of your reply is just circle work.

Well it is outside the realms of possibility. The programs are run through with all the heads in the football department.
You can take that to 5 banks.
The rest is not circle work. It is actually fact.
One bloke with a history of soft tissue injuries is injured and another maybe has an issue.