“Being younger, a late draft pick and having a family history of ACLs made AFL players particularly vulnerable,” Dr Webster said.
“We found 50 per cent of players aged under 21 when first injured, suffered another ACL injury.”
The research also revealed that players with more than 50 games experience and those who were higher draft picks were more likely to return to play after an ACL injury.
“These are players with a proven record who clubs want back on their list,” Dr Webster said.
“While an ACL injury is a potentially career-threatening event for all AFL players, ACL reconstruction early in a player’s AFL career can be especially detrimental to their career prospects.
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50% is a high recurrence rate, also explains J Davey and Baldwin who both did knees pre 21.
I have a mate who did one as a junior 17 and ended up getting 3 knee ops done.
I for one, still believe there is a good player lurking in Hunter and am keen to see how his rehab goes. Providing he makes a full recovery l would like the club to give him another chance next year if he wants to go around once more.
He has been at EFC for 6 months, not 6 pr 7 years, so there is quite a margin of difference. I did also put in a proviso. Also, Hunter may yet up stumps and decide it is all too much of a grind.
It’s an interesting study. The “career ending” bit associated with lower rated and younger players is a bit of an obvious cause an effect scenario, as lower ranked and younger players are more likely to have their career ended by delisting whether or not they have done a knee. The additional effect of having done the knee is clearly going to impact, but that’s not the same as the player having their career ended by a knee injury. It’s just their opportunity disappeared because of a significant injury at the wrong time.
The bit about young players redoing it is interesting. And probably not surprising in hindsight, as young players coming back (and pushing to come back due to the “wrong injury at the wrong time” causing them to see their career disappearing) while still having weaknesses in their growing bodies etc. Given that, it does make complete sense as to why the club has gone super cautious on Baldwin and Davey’s knees. Who’d have thought that our medical team would be bading their programs on the evidence, and not on Blitz’s expectations!! Hopefully the outcome is good for both.
options are he stays on the list till the end of the year, we review rehab. mental side of things.
poor kid has been living away from home on an afl list for less than a year and already had 2 serious injuries, meaning little footy played.
contract wise we need to offer him a new contract at the end of this year to keep him on the list.
If I was him, I would go home back to WA for recovery, but geez might be better to keep him around guys like Baldwin or J Davey who have faced similar battles.
Jaiden Hunter drafted to Essendon FC - AMPJFC Hawks (ampjfclub.com.au)
However another set back occurred half way through the 2021 season when he sustained a significant injury to his elbow, sidelining the young footballer for the remainder of the season. 2022 was a low point in Jaiden’s journey sustaining an ACL injury before the 2022 season kicked off. Jaiden moved home to Albany to recuperate and commence his own rehabilitation program with the support of his parents Toni and Paul. He continued his rehabilitation with Perth Football Club who provided ongoing support and programs to bring Jaiden back to full fitness, bring him to the start of the 2023 season and finally getting clearance from the doctors to resume football in just March this year.
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looks like he did his knee last time in the preseason too.
I get it, but he now has a history of ACL’s and stress fractures. These are his development years and every year he misses will just set him further back.
All true. He was taken because he was what we needed at the time. The need is still there, and unless a better candidate appears he is worth giving another year to have a more in-depth look at.
I disagree. How many times do we hear how young tall KP players take time to mature?
Think Kingsx2, JUH, Hawkins years ago (despite his physical maturity at a young age), Lynch etc. etc.
Hunter has shown plenty on very little preparation. Given his repeated long breaks with serious injuries, his efforts in the WAFL, 2 games with our VFL, and now in pre season with us, indicate that he has real ability. Not many young talls show that much on very, very little preparation and that young.
I think a lot of what happens depends on how we go with Weid Jones and caddy as there is a chance Weid and jones are both off the list at the end of the year
His position/role is also much less hampered by any loss of agility the ACLs caused him.
@frosty I’ll think you’ll find the number of players who’ve had decent AFL careers after multiple ACLRs drops off compared to the number who just had the one. Dan Menzel is one who had 4(?) and was ok when he made it back but was a shell of himself and out of the system 2-3 seasons later.
Also need to consider that for a guy like Hunter, who was probably 50/50 to make it prior to arriving to us, losing 1% of his agility might be the difference between him getting out on leads or getting swallowed by AFL level defenders.
I don’t disagree with any of that. Of course it’s worse to do 2 than 1, but it’s all about how he recovers.
He was probably worse than 50/50 when we selected him given what we’ve seen from MSD picks, and rookie picks in general. But assuming he recovers well there is still a path to carving out a career. But he’ll need a lot of luck. But we can also support him and provide the opportunity for him to get himself right. Then who knows …