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InjuryIQ

GWS Giants vs Sydney Swans — AFL 2026 Round 20

Round 20

Match details

Home & Away
Round 20
GWS Giants
vs
Sydney Swans
—
—Round 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
—
—Round 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 not yet available.

Season —
Season —

Head-to-head

15Ongoing injuries9
6Long-term (LTI)6
6 dDays' rest8 d
2Games in 21 days1
0 kmLast month air km3,289 km
Squad stabilityGWS 15thSYD 13th 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 (GWS 2, SYD 4).

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.
Sat 25 July · 4:35pm·Giants Stadium, Sydney
State
NSW
Surface
Natural grass
Roof
Open roof
Capacity
24,000

Possible returns

Currently-injured players who could feature — fitness tests, squad signals and projected returns.

GWS
  • Leek AleerDEF
    Projected return
    ManagedDue (5 days ago)
  • Jesse Hogan
    Projected return
    Wrist/Hand — Finger FractureDue this week
  • Lachie WhitfieldDEF
    Projected return
    Head/Neck — ConcussionDue this week
SYDno possible returns

Returnees to watch

Recently back from injury and still in the elevated-reinjury window — risk concentrates in the first games back, especially for soft-tissue.

GWS
  • Jayden Laverdeback from hamstring · 1 game backSoft-tissue return — recurrence risk is highest in the first games back.
  • Xavier O'Halloranback from ankle/foot · 1 game back
  • Phoenix Gothardback from systemic/other · 1 game back
  • Toby McMullinback from hamstring · 1 game back
    Recurrence
    Soft-tissue return — recurrence risk is highest in the first games back.
  • Logan Smithback from knee · 2 games back
SYD
  • Tom Papleyback from lower leg · 1 game back
    Recurrence
  • Tom Hanilyback from head/neck · 2 games back
  • Lewis Melicanback from hamstring · 2 games backSoft-tissue return — recurrence risk is highest in the first games back.
  • Dane Rampeback from lower leg · 2 games back
    Recurrence

Current injuries

The confirmed outs for both squads (21 across both), ranked by impact. Players in doubt are listed under Possible returns above.

SYD carry the cleaner bill of health — GWS enter with 15 ongoing injuries to SYD's 9, 6 of them long-term.

GWS12 out
  • Tom GreenMID
    LTI

    Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    Due Dec 1
  • Josh KellyMID
    LTI
    Recurrence

    Groin/Hip — Hip Osteoarthritis

    Long-term
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Darcy JonesFWD
    LTI
    Recurrence

    Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    Due Jul 25
  • Nathan WardiusFWD
    LTI

    Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    Due Oct 1
  • Max GruzewskiFWD
    LTI

    Knee — Patella Dislocation

    Severe
    Injury-proneDue Jul 25
  • Nick Madden
    LTI

    Knee — Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) Injury

    Severe
    Injury-proneDue (5 days ago)
  • Phoenix GothardFWD

    Shoulder — Shoulder Dislocation

    Moderate
    FragileDue Aug 22
  • Brent DanielsFWD

    Lower Leg — Calf Strain

    Moderate
    Due Aug 1
  • Ollie Hannaford

    Foot — Foot Injury (General)

    Moderate
    Due Aug 1
  • Jack BuckleyDEF

    Hamstring — Hamstring Strain

    Moderate
    Due (5 days ago)
  • Jake RiccardiFWD

    Ankle/Foot — High Ankle Sprain

    Moderate
    Due Aug 8
  • Finnegan Davis

    Quadriceps — Quadriceps Strain

    Minor
    Due this week

Signals

  • 2recurrences
  • 1awaiting diagnosis
  • 4durability-fragile
  • Body regions:
    • Knee5
    • Groin/Hip2
  • What they lose: 6 of 11 outs are 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.