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InjuryIQ

Essendon vs Melbourne — AFL 2026 Round 5

Round 5

Match details

Home & Away
Round 5
Full time
Essendon
113–68
Melbourne
16th
of 18 · index 59Round 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
11th
of 18 · index 83Round 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.
MEL entered healthier — 11th v 16th this round
Season 12th of 18 · index 43−4vs season
Season 9th of 18 · index 55

Head-to-head

9Ongoing injuries8
4Long-term (LTI)4
6 dDays' rest6 d
3Games in 21 days3
654 kmLast month air km2,721 km
Squad stabilityESS 4thMEL 18th 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 (ESS 3, MEL 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.
Sat 11 Apr · 1:15pm·Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
State
SA
Surface
Natural grass
Roof
Open roof
Capacity
53,583

Injuries from this game

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

No injuries reported from this game.

Back from injury

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

ESS
MEL

Current injuries

Every ongoing injury carried by each squad today (17 across both). Injuries sustained in this game are in the casualty report above.

MEL hold a slight availability edge (9 ongoing injuries to 8); ESS 4 of them long-term.

ESS
  • Lewis HayesDEF
    LTI

    Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    Injury-proneDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Archie MayFWD
    LTI

    Shoulder — Shoulder Dislocation

    Long-term
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Brayden FioriniMID
    LTI

    Chest/Torso — Back Injury (General)

    Long-term
    In rehab
    FragileDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Nic MartinFWD
    LTI

    Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    IronmanDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Rhys UnwinFWD

    Hamstring — Hamstring Strain Grade II

    Severe
    Due tomorrow
  • Kyle LangfordFWD
    Recurrence

    Quadriceps — Quadriceps Strain

    Moderate
    Possible return
    Due tomorrow
  • Jordan RidleyDEF

    Managed

    Minor
    Possible return
    FragileDue tomorrow
  • Kayle GerreynFWD

    Knee — Knee Injury (General)

    Minor
    Due Jul 29
  • Tom EdwardsFWD

    Hamstring — Hamstring Strain

    Minor
    Due Jul 30

Signals

  • 1recurrence
  • 1awaiting diagnosis
  • 3durability-fragile
  • Body regions:
    • Knee3
    • Hamstring2
  • What they lose: 6 of 9 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.