Geelong Cats vs Western Bulldogs — AFL 2026 Round 6
Match details
Evenly matched on squad health.
Head-to-head
GEE on a short 5-day turnaround — at/under the 5-day congestion mark.
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 (GEE 2, WBD 1).
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.
- State
- VIC
- Surface
- Natural grass
- Roof
- Open roof
- Capacity
- 36,000
Injuries from this game
What this game cost — players hurt in it, OSIICS-classified, each linked to its injury record.
No injuries reported
- Sam Darcy Long-termKnee· typically ~22 gamesACL rupture (left knee) confirmed by scans — left knee buckled in Q2 of Geelong vs Western…
- •James O'Donnell ModerateHamstring· typically ~1 gameRight hamstring strain sustained during Geelong vs Western Bulldogs (R6). Key defender…
- •Tom Liberatore ModerateHead/Neck· typically ~2 gamesConcussion sustained before half-time in Geelong vs Western Bulldogs (R6). Ruled out for…
- •Rory Lobb MinorHamstring· typically ~1 gameLeft hamstring strain sustained during Geelong vs Western Bulldogs (R6). Came off mid-game…
Back from injury
Players who returned from injury in this game, each linking to their profile.
- Patrick Dangerfieldback from lower leg
- Tom Liberatoreback from hamstring
- Aaron Naughtonback from wrist/hand
- Ed Richardsback from ankle/foot
Current injuries
Every ongoing injury carried by each squad today (17 across both). Injuries sustained in this game are in the casualty report above.
WBD carry the cleaner bill of health — GEE enter with 10 ongoing injuries to WBD's 7, 2 of them long-term.
Knee — ACL Tear
Long-termDue Oct 1Foot — Navicular Stress Fracture
Long-termInjury-proneDue Aug 22- Max HolmesMID
Ankle/Foot — High Ankle Sprain
ModerateAwaiting DiagnosisDue Aug 22 Shoulder — AC Joint Separation
ModerateDue Aug 22- Jack MartinFWD
Managed
MinorFragileDue this week - Mark BlicavsRUC
Managed
MinorIronmanDue this week Hamstring — Hamstring Strain
MinorAwaiting DiagnosisIronmanDue this weekManaged
MinorDue this weekHamstring — Hamstring Strain
MinorFragileDue this week- Tanner BruhnMID
Head/Neck — Concussion
MinorDue this week
Signals
- 1recurrence
- 2awaiting diagnosis
- 3durability-fragile
- Body regions:
- Systemic/Other3
- Hamstring2
- What they lose: 3 forwards, 3 ruckmen, 2 midfielders, 1 defender
Knee — ACL Tear
Long-termInjury-proneDue Mar 15, 2027Ankle/Foot — High Ankle Sprain
ModerateInjury-proneDue Aug 17- Bailey DaleDEF
Shoulder — Shoulder Fracture
ModerateDue Aug 26 Hamstring — Hamstring Strain
MinorFragileDue this week- Tim EnglishRUC
Chest/Torso — Back Injury (General)
MinorPossible returnAwaiting DiagnosisDue tomorrow Wrist/Hand — Hand/Wrist Injury (General)
MinorPossible returnAwaiting DiagnosisDue tomorrowHead/Neck — Concussion
MinorPossible returnInjury-proneDue tomorrow
Signals
- 1recurrence
- 2awaiting diagnosis
- 4durability-fragile
- What they lose: 3 forwards, 2 defenders, 1 midfielder, 1 ruckman
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.