The "Resting" Myth

[patdman]

It is very very very rare for a player to be rested for no reason, or even because of past injuries. Whilst player management is vital to September success I am amused at the amount of people who want players rested because they have had past injuries. If a player is right to play, they play. If they are sore, or some particular environmental factor leads the club to believe they are at risk of an injury (i.e. returning from recent stress fractures and having to play on concrete somewhere) then yes the player might be rested as a precaution. But you dont rest players just because last season or two seasons ago they had particular problems.

We will not rest Chapman, SJ, Ling, Scarlett, Ottens or any other player just for fun. It makes no sense at all.

Thanks

 

[darrenmorgan]

its about managing them so that they are primed for the business end of the season. did you learn nothing in 2008?

 

[witsend]

It is very very very rare for a player to be rested for no reason, or even because of past injuries. Whilst player management is vital to September success I am amused at the amount of people who want players rested because they have had past injuries. If a player is right to play, they play. If they are sore, or some particular environmental factor leads the club to believe they are at risk of an injury (i.e. returning from recent stress fractures and having to play on concrete somewhere) then yes the player might be rested as a precaution. But you dont rest players just because last season or two seasons ago they had particular problems.

We will not rest Chapman, SJ, Ling, Scarlett, Ottens or any other player just for fun. It makes no sense at all.

Thanks

Maybe not...but if Chapman says after a game/training "I'm feeling a tiny bit tight in the hammys", it would be insanity not to rest him until he was pain free, unless it was a critical game.
Same goes for most players on our list. It is the benefit of being that much better than most other teams. We can trust that our depth players will do a good enough job to get us over the line in most games. This is particularly true if we can get a few early wins.
The fact is that at the end of an AFL season, all players are carrying some kind of niggle, so a short break at some stage may do wonders for tired bodies.

 

[pinion]

couldn't agree more. during the pre-season a lot of people seemed to have this notion that we'd be resting 5 players every week under some sort of rotation policy. the fact is, we're not THAT much better than the rest of the competition.

the approach we're seeing at the moment is just a response to last year's injury problems. just a cautious approach to those who aren't 100% so that injuries don't get out of hand. Podsiadly's a guy with a mature body who would have benefited from the experience of travelling last week, so there must have been some sort of niggle to keep him out

 

[noclashjumpers]

We will not rest Chapman, SJ, Ling, Scarlett, Ottens or any other player just for fun. It makes no sense at all.

Thanks

That sounds pretty categorical. I'm guessing you're on the coaching and/or medical staff.

For the record, ignoring past injuries when assessing whether a player should play, makes no sense at all.

 

[witsend]

Fortunately BF Geelong Board doesn't pick our teams. Geelong have been pretty consistent. If you're sore and the world won't stop turning if you miss, you miss. If it's a 2 week hammy...take 3.
Plus there seems to be a genuine desire to get games into young players. This is partly to give them experience, but I also think we are sick of losing our next level players who go because they simply can't get a run in the firsts.

 

[Micksy]

I guess the OP is right.

It's not for fun, it's because they're a bit sore, tired, old that they get rested.

I'm not sure where people have been saying that we'll rest guys just for shits n giggles.

 

[patdman]

Maybe not...but if Chapman says after a game/training "I'm feeling a tiny bit tight in the hammys", it would be insanity not to rest him until he was pain free

- I am not talking about when a player has an injury or is sore (as I said, learn to read), I am talking about people making comments like

"We should bring in player x and rest player y" - Just because they want to squeeze in their favourite spudnik from the VFL.

OR

"This would be a good game to rest X" - when we are playing a shit team.

Players dont play because they are injured, carrying problems which are a chance to get worse, fatigued or a part of a program developed by the trainers. We dont rest Chapman because in 2008 he had hammy problems. We dont rest Ablett because we are playing Richmond.

There is not a thread on this board talking about ins and outs where people dont sprout this "resting" nonsense. I for one think it is ****ing stupid and should stop!

 

[H E Pennypacker]

its about managing them so that they are primed for the business end of the season. did you learn nothing in 2008?

Could not agree more darren. If we can afford to rest our key players for a week or two through the season, whether they are injured or not, I'm all for it. Fresh for the finals, and also resting them means they are less likely to pick up an injury than if they were playing.

 

[witsend]

- I am not talking about when a player has an injury or is sore (as I said, learn to read), I am talking about people making comments like

"We should bring in player x and rest player y" - Just because they want to squeeze in their favourite spudnik from the VFL.

OR

"This would be a good game to rest X" - when we are playing a shit team.

Players dont play because they are injured, carrying problems which are a chance to get worse, fatigued or a part of a program developed by the trainers. We dont rest Chapman because in 2008 he had hammy problems. We dont rest Ablett because we are playing Richmond.

There is not a thread on this board talking about ins and outs where people dont sprout this "resting" nonsense. I for one think it is ****ing stupid and should stop!

With all due respect, although I don't think you should "rest" players who are fit and happy just for the sake of it, the idea of say not taking Milburn to AAMI to play Adelaide, just to give that tired old body a break is not crazy.
This isn't the 70s-80s where we just play on regardless. The game is significantly faster and more physically taxing now and older bodies simply cannot handle 22 games, a pre-season comp and 3-4 finals. It's called wear & tear.
Why do you think the club gave the senior players 3 months off over Xmas? They were physically and mentally exhausted after 3 years of elite level competition with extended finals campaigns.
You can certainly see Mooney has a spring back in his step because of it.

 

[jim boy]

- I am not talking about when a player has an injury or is sore (as I said, learn to read), I am talking about people making comments like

"We should bring in player x and rest player y"

some of these players like Chapman, have chronic hamstring complaints, while they may not even have a specific acute injury, giving them the week off will let them strengthen whatever underlying physical ailment they are carrying. You can bet that pretty much every player will have a niggle of some sort.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I guess the OP is right.

It's not for fun, it's because they're a bit sore, tired, old that they get rested.

I'm not sure where people have been saying that we'll rest guys just for shits n giggles.

No one ever has...people just misinterpret this because they fail to differentiate between 'managing' and 'resting'.