Should the AFL change the rules for ruck duels?

[injuryupdate]

PCL injuries are very common in AFL ruckmen. See the following extract from Peter Larkins' column in the Herald-Sun:

More recently this injury has been better diagnosed in the AFL and has become known as the "ruckman's knee" due to the high incidence in players such as Gardiner.

Ruckmen jump into each other at centre bounces, clashing knee-to-knee and forcing the shin bone (tibia) backwards on the thigh bone (femur). This force tears the posterior cruciate causing a heavy or numb sensation in the knee with a resultant sense of insecurity and swelling.

This injury frequently goes undiagnosed in amateur and suburban footy.

Many AFL ruckmen are currently playing with damaged posterior cruciate ligaments in one, or both, knees.

They include Jeff White, Luke Darcy, Peter Everitt, Corey McKernan, Mark Porter, Matthew Allan, Peter Street, David Loats, Robert Campbell, Beau McDonald, Justin Koschitzke and Gardiner.

When the AFL was alerted to this epidemic, rule changes were tested in the Wizard Cup with a centre circle used to prevent ruckmen jumping into each other with significant momentum.

Unfortunately most of the PCL injuries occur during the main season.

So why is there so much fuss over this injury? From a medical perspective this injury often leads to progressive degeneration in the knee. Without a PCL, the knee becomes sloppy with excessive back and forward laxity.

Players will frequently experience swelling and ache especially if they receive repeated knocks to the front of the knee. Over a period of time this leads to increased wear on the bone's protective surface (articular cartilage) and ultimately to arthritis.

Apart from changing the ruck contest rules, most PCL injuries that occur in general play are unavoidable.

Our game is a high-velocity contact and collision sport and as a result the number of players belonging to the "PCL Club" will continue to grow.

[injuryupdate]

Mick Malthouse hasn't voted but he would like the current Wizard Cup rules incorporated.

Dangers when big men collide
By Mick Malthouse
May 14, 2004

MOST readers would not have heard of David Fanning.

"Freddie", as he is known at Collingwood, has been re-learning the game after a brief career playing basketball.

He's a tall kid - 19 years old and 205cm - who played under-16 schoolboy footy for Victoria. But then Freddie switched sports and ended up playing in the NBL with the Cairns Taipans. We lured him back to AFL at the start of this year.

It's been a re-education process, but he had been making excellent progress. Then, last weekend, he lined up for our Williamstown side in the VFL and fell to the ground after a ruck contest, as did his opponent.

Unfortunately Freddie ruptured his posterior cruciate ligament, which will cost him at least 10 to 12 weeks, possibly the whole season.

Every employer in Australia is expected to provide a safe workplace for its employees. The AFL is no different, even though many would regard talk of occupation health and safety in football as an oxymoron. But they're wrong.

The AFL has come a long way in protecting players. There are far fewer serious head injuries these days due to tighter laws and punitive tribunals reading the riot act to offenders.

The increased video scrutiny and risk of long suspension or fines have all but stopped players being king hit behind play. Since the 1990s, we've also made huge advances in stopping racial vilification on the field.

Yet the AFL refuses to safeguard our big men. During the pre-season competition, the AFL trialled an excellent new rule banning ruck men from taking huge, unrestricted run-ups at centre bounces.

A restrictive circle still promoted a contest, but stopped the giants from taking a running leap into each other -- knees raised and vulnerable.

Freddie would still be playing if this rule remained in the regular competition. I suspect West Coast might be further up the ladder as well.

I watched the Eagles play Melbourne last Sunday. My old side have what I regard as the best midfield in the competition, but the season-destroying injury to big Michael Gardner has neutered that strength.

Like Fanning, Michael suffered a PCL injury from a ruck contest. Brisbane's Beau McDonald and Luke Darcy at the Western Bulldogs are other victims of the ruckman's curse.

The AFL must have very big coffers of spare money because we are setting ourselves up for a serious compensation payout.

In 1999, Crows' Shaun Rehn successfully sued football authorities after slipping on the point of the centre circle and prematurely ending his career.

I'm no lawyer, but it strikes me that we are vulnerable to similar action for not providing adequate workplace protection for our ruckmen.

The Wizard Cup rules were excellent. Restricting the run-up still provides an advantage for the player with outstanding vertical leap. We still promote the art of tap rucking and solid body work. But we relieve some of the physical pressure that comes from two 100kg-plus men careering into each other - knees raised - with a momentum built up from starting up to 50m apart.

One of the most attractive facets of our game is that it is built for all sizes. A small fellow like Tony Liberatore can win a Brownlow Medal. A beanpole like ex-Kangaroo Matthew Burton can tower over a team-mate like Brent Harvey.

But we're seriously endangering our ruck species by refusing to restrict the centre bounce run-up.

Whether or not Collingwood are playing, I wince every time I see a centre bounce contest. You know that if knee-hits-knee or knee-hits-hip, there's a high chance one of the ruckmen will end up with a PCL rupture.

We've had our injury problems at the Magpies, but this has nothing to do with Collingwood - I've been brooding about this long before Freddie's woes.

I'd hate people to read this as sour grapes; for the sake of every ruckman in the AFL - and the land - we've got to make the change. Wake up AFL and stop the ruck carnage.

The Australian

[injuryupdate]

The latest PCL posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury to Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes may be enough to prod the AFL into changing the centre square ruck rules, despite Goodes surprisingly being able to play a week after his initial injury. Read more at Foxsports. Mick Malthouse joined sports medicos Peter Brukner and Peter Larkins in calling for a review of the rules, prior to the Goodes' injury. Read the Malthouse argument. Normally the rule for cruciate ligament injuries is that an elite football player can 'carry' a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury but must have an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstructed. This season however, two AFL ruckmen have been ruled out for the year following decisions to undergo PCL reconstruction. The ruckman in AFL is in a unique position with respect to repetitive strains on the knee from collisions in ruck duels forcing the knee backwards. Ruckmen are the most likely to suffer PCL injuries and perhaps they could carry them like most other players, expect for the fact that they continually re-expose themselves to the same forces that have affected their PCLs in the first place. When the ligament cannot stabilise the knee, lining cartilage wear, which can lead to knee arthritis, can occur. Beau Macdonald of the Brisbane Lions and Michael Gardiner of the West Coast Eagles, both have required PCL reconstructions. These procedures have a lower success rate than ACL surgery, yet must be considered by their clubs to be the only option given the recurrent injuries to their key ruckmen. Dr Peter Brukner of The Age suggests that the AFL will need to consider rule changes, whilst ruckman Peter Everitt suggests that they may need to wear knee pads.