No it doesn’t, you just don’t remember the injuries in the first couple of years of retiring 200 game players.
2 Likes
Do have anything at all to back that up?
Edit: apologies. That was a ■■■■ thing to say.
Here’s my reasoning for agreeing with @westozziebomber: the numbers suggest most players who make it to 200 games don’t suffer much in the way of injuries early in their careers.
Because it was the easiest list of long term players to find, here’s the current players who’ve played at least 200 games with one club.
It’s 30 players on 200+ games. 4 with a single longish injury early (Murphy, Pendlebury, Hurn, Riewoldt). 24 with no notable injury history at all at the start of their careers. 2 with notable injury history early in their career that might compare with Lav (Thompson, Montagna).
Details if you want them:
Scott Thompson: missed large parts of years 2, 3, and 4 with injuries
Richard Douglas: no notable injuries in his first 5 years. SANFL early then uninterrupted
Kade Simpson: not many senior games, but no notable injuries
Marc Murphy: missed half his first season with a shoulder injury, played at least 20 games for the next 5 years
Bryce Gibbs: missed maybe 1 or 2 games in his first 6 years
Scott Pendlebury: missed half his first year with illness, played 20+ games every year since
Brent Stanton: unkillable
David Mundy: one year of WAFL, no notable injuries for the next 6 years
Aaron Sandilands: one year of WAFL, 18+ games for the next 4 years
Michael Johnson: no notable injuries first 4 years
Andrew Mackie: can’t figure it out. Could be injuries, could be VFL.
Joel Selwood: has never played less than 20 games in a season
Harry Taylor: ditto
Luke Hodge: 15, 15, 15, 21 games in his first 4 years, pretty sure a lot of those missed games were from being fat, not injured
Grant Birchall: 16, 24, 25, 19 games in his first 4 years
Jarryd Roughea: 16, 20, 22, 25 games in his first 4 years
Nathan Jones: played 8 games in his first year, not sure if VFL or injuries, hasn’t played less than 20 since
Lindsay Thomas: played 12 games in his first year, at least 18 every year since
Justin Westhoff: 16, 21, 13 (dropped), 19 games first 4 years
Jack Riewoldt: 8 (missed several weeks with injury, mostly VFL), 18, 20, 22 first 4 years
Nick Riewoldt: 6 (mostly knee, some VFL), 22, 22, 25 first 4 years
Leigh Montagna: very few games, injury and form
Jarrad McVeigh: NEAFL first year, then 13 (injury), 25, 23, 24
Heath Grundy: few games, all NEAFL, no notable injuries
Kieren Jack: NEAFL first year, then 20+ games for 3 years
Matt Priddis: WAFL first year, 18+ games every year since
Shannon Hurn: WAFL first year, then picked when fit, missed most of his 3rd year with injury
Robert Murphy: VFL then 16, 19, 22, 19
Matthew Boyd: VFL then 19, 17, 24, 22
Dale Morris: 17, 24, 21, 25 first 4 years
5 Likes
Has largely suffered from impact injuries during general play. Not what I would consider chronic fragility or physiological frailty. I suspect anyone looking to draw those conclusions at this stage are just ■■■■■■ he’s injured and having a blitzy foot-stamp.
3 Likes
Being injured so much, it should be hard for him to demand a bigger slice of the salary pie…yet the quality will remain on the list, with the potential to boost the senior team… who knows, all it would need to be is to come right for the duration of a finals campaign, to provide a better injury replacement than the opposition has, and it would all be worthwhile.
I just hope he can make a full recovery from the current injury. It is a very serious one. I would not be surprised if he does not play any more football this year at all.
An injury riddled 125 games and 3 Flags would make me pretty happy with Laverdes career
2 Likes
courageously missed
2 Likes
I reckon he had OP in his first or second year.
I remember another young HF from around Keilor that had injury troubles due to his reckless attack on the footy and contest. He did alright in a few premiership campaigns over a long career.
3 Likes
KEILOR
RIP in peace LAV
1 Like
from memory they have all been impact injuries with no reoccurring issue ala Gumbleton and Winderlich. It’s certainly not a good start and it will put him back development wise but he has plenty of time.
1 Like
Sheedy moved him to the backline which had a very big effect on his continuity and the 185cm gun went on to be an AA CHB. Loved him as a player, tough, uncompromising and great skills.
3 Likes
That was a masterful move by Sheeds. I remember marvelling at how Harvs kept out-marking the best CHFs in the comp. It just didn’t make sense but it just kept happening. We really benefitted from his kicking off HB as well.
Maybe this could be where Lav ends up.
1 Like
I am from the future. Lav played 241 games, x3 premiership player, x1 Norm Smith, x1 All Australian, and no one gives a ■■■■ about his injuries when he was young.
I’ve come back to enjoy it all over again (a meteor strikes earth in 2039 and the subsequent magnetic firestorm erases all of earth’s digital storage… I recommend getting on the flight to Mars if you can)
12 Likes
Been around the world don’t speak the lounge
That’s great and all that… but what’s the quaddie this weekend?
5 Likes
You know RIP means “rest in peace”, right Pre?
1 Like
oh my
5 Likes
old joke, nevermind.
kids these days!
3 Likes