Round 3 of the NRL saw one of the worst injury lists in recent years, with a handful of stars set to face lengthy stints on the sidelines after a wide range of issues plagued the weekend of action.
Nathan Cleary, Mitchell Moses, Lindsay Collins, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Reece Walsh headline a list of 14 players who went down with an injury, forcing a large number of squad adjustments ahead of this weekend.
A causality ward this big in such a short period is nearly unheard of in the modern NRL era, leaving many to question what the main cause behind this could be.
SEN NRL expert Denan Kemp revealed his belief that the league’s expanded schedule and increased demands on the players could be one of the reasons to the increased number of injuries in recent times.
“I understand where the fans are coming from, but this is why the RLPA, in my opinion, dug their heels in so much about the NRL being able to add in more games without having to ask them,” Kemp said on SEN 1170 The Captain’s Run.
“I’m happy to see the stats and compare it year on year… and maybe it’s just because we’re more focused on injuries these days but it definitely does feel like there’s been an increase in injuries these days.
“Logically it seems like if we’re going to increase the muscle mass, increase the weight, the fitness, the power, the speed, everything, plus we’re going to increase the amount of games we do each week, plus training is going to be harder, in no areas of the game does it seem like we’re reducing the loads or stresses on the body.
“We’ve only increased it… the problem is, this isn’t coming from a position of ‘Oh, poor rugby league players, they're being soft, this is from the position of if you want the best product every week you need to protect the players from injuries.”
The 14 players that went down in Round 3 only add to an already worryingly long list of injuries suffered in the first four weeks of the season.
Sitting down to write up the Patreon Casualty Ward - totally normal week in NRL injury land 🫠🫠 pic.twitter.com/HMyKdrjT6l
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 26, 2024
“I hope that they are looking into this,” Kemp added.
“I understand more games equals more revenue but more games at (a lesser) quality, does that equal more revenue?”
“It’s a conundrum because I get it, it’s a product and when you take that product you want to have the most quantity of that product to people that are buyers.”