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InjuryIQ

Gold Coast Suns vs Melbourne — AFL 2026 Round 21

Round 21

Match details

Home & Away
Round 21
Full time
Gold Coast Suns
105–114
Melbourne
2nd
of 18 · index 72Round Health Score (0–100), last 5 rounds. Scores drift down league-wide as the season's injury load builds — read the slope relative to the league, not the level.
Round health
7th
of 18 · index 55Round Health Score (0–100), last 5 rounds. Scores drift down league-wide as the season's injury load builds — read the slope relative to the league, not the level.

Evenly matched on squad health.

Season 2nd of 18 · index 73
Season 12th of 18 · index 33+5vs season

Head-to-head

6Ongoing injuries9
2Long-term (LTI)5
7 dDays' rest7 d
2Games in 21 days3
2,938 kmLast month air km0 km
Squad stabilityGCS 15thMEL 16th of 18

Value-weighted players used — 1st = most churn of key players, 18th = most settled. Weighted by player value (our metric), not raw squad size.

Soft-tissue = the OSIICS muscle/tendon family — the injuries most prone to recurrence (GCS 1, MEL 0).

What do these scores mean?
Round Health
— point-in-time (0–100, 100 = no injury absences), weighting current ongoing absences on a fixed scale comparable across rounds. The league average drifts down as the season's injury load builds, so low late-season numbers are normal.
Season Health
— cumulative season-to-date: value-weighted injury burden, availability and incidence. Load-managed rests are excluded from both.
Sun 2 Aug · 3:15pm·Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast
State
QLD
Surface
Natural grass
Roof
Open roof
Capacity
25,000

Injuries from this game

What this game cost — players hurt in it, OSIICS-classified, each linked to its injury record.

GCS
  • •Sam Collins
    Minor
    Chest/Torso· typically ~1 gameRib injury — ruled out of the Round 21 game against Melbourne after a heavy collision with…
MEL
  • •Blake Howes
    Moderate
    Wrist/Hand· typically ~1 gameWrist injury sustained against Gold Coast. Listed among Melbourne casualties in the Round…

Back from injury

Players who returned from injury in this game, each linking to their profile.

GCS
MEL

Current injuries

Every ongoing injury carried by each squad today (15 across both). Injuries sustained in this game are in the casualty report above.

GCS carry the cleaner bill of health — MEL enter with 9 ongoing injuries to GCS's 6, 5 of them long-term.

GCS
  • Will GrahamFWD
    LTI

    Shoulder — Shoulder Injury (General)

    Long-term
    Injury-proneDue Mar 1, 2027
  • Elliott HimmelbergFWD
    LTI

    Knee — Knee Injury (General)

    Long-term
    Injury-proneOverdue (15 days)
  • Christian PetraccaMID

    Foot — Foot Injury (General)

    Minor
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Sam CollinsDEF

    Chest/Torso — Rib Contusion

    Minor
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Wil PowellDEF
    Recurrence

    Shoulder — Shoulder Injury (General)

    Minor
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Lachie WellerMID
    Recurrence

    Hamstring — Hamstring Strain

    Minor
    Due Mar 1, 2027

Signals

  • 2recurrences
  • 4awaiting diagnosis
  • 2durability-fragile
  • Body regions: 2× shoulder
  • What they lose: 2 defenders, 2 midfielders, 2 forwards

Recurrence flags repeat injuries to the same body region within 24 months.

Injury classifications use the OSIICS system (Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System). © John Orchard — Free to use with acknowledgment.