Lloyd, one of the game's greatest forwards and now a respected media voice, has joined a chorus of concern about the injury toll sweeping through AFL clubs in the opening weeks of the 2026 season. The spike is unmistakable. Early rounds have seen key players dropping with injuries at an alarming rate, and you have to wonder whether the league's ambitious rule overhaul is playing a part.
Richmond's match against Gold Coast saw three significant hamstring concerns emerge; within three quarters at the MCG, Richmond veterans Tom Lynch and Toby Nankervis, alongside Gold Coast superstar recruit Christian Petracca were all withdrawn from the contest with what appeared to be significant hamstring injuries. That's the kind of single-match casualty list that should set alarm bells ringing. Round 2 also saw Crows recruit Callum Ah Chee suffer another nasty hamstring, while Isaac Heeney missed Sydney's loss to Hawthorn with a hamstring.
Here's the thing: the timing is suspicious. Since the introduction of the out of bounds 'lasso' rule, the pace of ball movement has increased exponentially, with players covering ground at record speeds within the opening weeks of the 2026 campaign. Former Eagles coach Adam Simpson wonders if the injuries are simply unfortunate, or if the rule changes are starting to seriously impact the health of players across the AFL, noting there's "a lot of fallout from an injury point of view."
Simpson has a valid point. He questions whether this is "just the game, or the rule changes," asking "Are there things at play here that we're not aware of?" given the "carnage early on." The faster tempo is undoubtedly pushing bodies to their limit. Pre-season conditioning, even for elite athletes, may not have adequately prepared players for the new pace AFL footy now demands.
Look, the rule changes themselves make sense on paper. Seven new rule changes are designed to reduce match lengths by about three minutes, with a last disposal rule, new centre ball-up contest laws and stronger enforcement of players standing in the protected area all part of the adjustment. The AFL consulted extensively with clubs and stakeholders about these tweaks, focusing on removing dead time and making games more appealing as a spectacle.
But there's an unintended consequence playing out right before us. The faster game means players are accelerating and decelerating at speeds their bodies haven't adapted to yet. Hamstring injuries in particular thrive in this environment because they're most vulnerable during high-speed running and sudden directional changes. You push the pace, you increase the risk. It's basic sports science.
Fair dinkum, this raises a genuine problem for league officials. You can't simply wind back the rule changes after the first month because they're working as intended for match flow. But ignoring a potential injury epidemic isn't an option either. Clubs and the league need to assess whether pre-season preparation adequately addresses the demands of 2026 footy, and whether any further adjustments to training loads are warranted.
At the end of the day, Lloyd and Simpson are right to sound the alarm. Lloyd's perspective carries extra weight because he knows about injury setbacks firsthand, having missed the majority of his 2006 season after suffering a serious hamstring injury. He understands what these injuries cost players and clubs.
The 2026 season is only in its infancy. The injury toll may normalise as players and clubs adjust to the new pace. But if the carnage continues, the AFL will have to confront an uncomfortable truth: a faster game, however entertaining, isn't worth it if it's costing us the players who make football worth watching.