Travel Effects

[Eagle_Fan]

Much is made in the media of the effects travel to and from Perth and Brisbane have on Victorian players. Are they really that severe?

A number of our star players have been retiring at only 28 - 30, when most good AFL players last until their early to mid 30's. Do you think the wear and tear of travelling across the country every second week causes this? Does playing for an intertate club shorten their careers? Do you think that they recieve enough compensation for this? Have I imagined it all in looking for reasons why we've been losing our club legends?

Anyway, I'm interested in a few non-biased opinions.

 

[Mary]

It can't be that good on the body. I get sick of supporters and the media in Melbourne complaining about the affects of travel on Melbourne based clubs. I think the travel is far worse for the teams from the West, they have to travel 10 times per year, across Australia.
If you look at the Ansett Cup matchs. The eagles went to Darwin and Melbourne then home.The Lions went to Cairns, Hobart and melbourne. Can't be that good for the body at this time of the year.

 

[westy]

It is an interesting one isnt it I do for work an west-east return flight at about the same rate they do & I find it very hard.
Could it maybe be a factor in why so many Dockers & a few Eagles have improved so much when away from the club.I would point out that unless you travel accross the country its just not as hard .(shorter flights & no timezone change).
Another factor could be for the Eagles the build up of the "state Team" mentality that they have encouraged plus the tough ,physical style they have used might just wear them down. Look at the guys whove struggled & retired early-Evans,Waterman,Mainwaring,Heady all bar Heady in the middle area in & under types.
P.S i do not follow the Eagles so this is not club talk

 

[colley31]

Most of the players Eagles_Fan mentioned had their careers cut short because of injuries. Therefore I think you would have to have a look at the medical staff, some clubs like Western Bulldogs, St Kilda and the Kangaroos for example have very few injuries, whereas Essendon, Adelaide, West Coast and Geelong seem to have more than their fair share. With the interstate clubs with the drier climate ie: Perth & Brisbane, the grounds tend to be a lot harder, all year round, therefore putting more pressure/stress on different parts of the body. This, I believe is the main reason why the Eagles have suffered so many injuries, and not so much the amount of travel.

 

[Power Mad]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there - a cumulative effects of playing and training on harder grounds and the constant travelling.

The worst part of the long flights would be *after* the games. I doubt too many teams would remain interstate overnight after a game very often, so they wouldn't be able to get the ideal rehabilitation sitting cooped up in a plane for hours after a hard game.

 

[Eagle_Fan]

Colley- you're right when you say they retired because of injury, but isn't it possible that the travel interrupts initial recovery? The first 24hrs is vital in injury management, and these players have to spend some of that time on a plane rather than having treatment. While I'm sure there's not too much difference in the short term, 10 years of awkward injury management surely wouldn't help.
So is it fair to say that the travel compounded the effects of the injuries, leading to chronic problems, and ultimately retirement?
Brennan, Evans, Harding, Hart, Heady, Lamb, Langdon, Lovell, Pyke, Sumich, Waterman and Worsfold. A couple of seasons from each is a big price to pay for being based in the West.

 

[The City Boyz]

This one's for Heady_101!

 

[Frank Gallagher]

Airline pilots don't seem to complain

Seriously though, i reckon it would be harder on the mind than the body.

Edit: Whats with the bumping, this isn't a Coke party.

 

[The City Boyz]

Airline pilots don't seem to complain

Seriously though, i reckon it would be harder on the mind than the body.

Edit: Whats with the bumping, this isn't a Coke party.

Yeah. I think the home crowd advantage is more prominent in a game like soccer, whereas crowds in the AFL aren't as big on home crowd advantage..

 

[King Wavo]

Travel effects thread bumped by dogs supporter. Of course. We get it, you're travelling to Perth. Etihad is in Melbourne. Continue playing the hard done by card, just like the media has done for you, for the last 6 weeks.

#justgeteliminatedalready

 

[blueboy0810]

Edit: Whats with the bumping, this isn't a Coke party.

The bye has sent us all crazy, back to it tomorrow night

 

[The City Boyz]

Travel effects thread bumped by dogs supporter. Of course. We get it, you're travelling to Perth. Etihad is in Melbourne. Continue playing the hard done by card, just like the media has done for you, for the last 6 weeks.

#justgeteliminatedalready

Nah mate, just a dare to bump the oldest relevant thread.

 

[underthestars]

Love that the OP created five new accounts to hold a discussion with himself.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Why are there all these accounts with 0 posts...