Crows dodge AFL injuries, GWS seek cure

AFL frontrunners Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney have enjoyed contrasting fortunes this season on the injury front.

AFL frontrunners Adelaide remain a picture of health compared to their rivals as they approach the pointy end of the season.

With five rounds remaining, the ladder-leading Crows have rotated between just 30 players so far this season.

That leaves them comfortably on track to again field the fewest players of any team, having used 29 last season.

While there have been regular niggles and ailments to navigate, coach Don Pyke has largely avoided long-term injuries to his star players.

Mitch McGovern and Kyle Hartigan have battled hamstring injuries, with Paul Seedsman sidelined by a lingering groin issue, but Pyke has managed to field close to his best team most weeks.

It's a different story for Greater Western Sydney, whose long-term injury list this season has included Stephen Coniglio, Brett Deledio, Ryan Griffen, Nick Haynes and Adam Kennedy.

Several players have been injured at training, prompting the Giants - who have won just one of their past six games - to tweak their regime.

"It's a fine balance," veteran defender Heath Shaw told SEN radio on Wednesday.

"We want to try and train at the highest intensity possible but, with the injuries we've had, we don't want to add to that anymore on the training track.

"We're mixing up different things throughout. We're doing a little bit more competitive stuff but then we're just trying to get our hit-out in a short space rather than dragging out long periods of training sessions."

Second-placed Geelong, GWS in third and fourth-placed Richmond are on par or slightly above the average quota for players used this season.

Cellar dwellers Carlton and North Melbourne - both of whom are embarking on rebuilds and haven't been afraid to throw debutants into the deep end - unsurprisingly feature towards the pointy end of the list.

PLAYERS USED PER TEAM THIS AFL SEASON:

* 30 - Adelaide

* 31 - Port Adelaide

* 33 - St Kilda, West Coast

* 35 - Brisbane, Collingwood, Essendon, GWS, Melbourne, Sydney

* 36 - Fremantle, Geelong, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Richmond, Western Bulldogs

* 38 - Gold Coast

* 39 - Carlton


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Source: AAP



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