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InjuryIQ

Western Bulldogs vs Carlton — AFL 2026 Round 23

Round 23

Match details

Home & Away
Round 23
Western Bulldogs
vs
Carlton
—
—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

7Ongoing injuries8
2Long-term (LTI)4
Last month air km
Squad stabilityWBD 4thCAR 1st 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 (WBD 1, CAR 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.
Mon 10 Aug · Time TBC·Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
State
VIC
Surface
Hybrid surface
Roof
Retractable roof
Capacity
56,347

Possible returns

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

WBD
  • Tim EnglishRUC
    Projected return
    Chest/Torso — Back Injury (General)Due this week
  • Ryley SandersMID
    Projected return
    Wrist/Hand — Hand/Wrist Injury (General)Due this week
CAR
  • Lewis YoungDEF
    Projected return
    Head/Neck — ConcussionDue this week

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.

WBD
  • Adam Treloarback from other/systemic · 1 game back
  • Bailey Williamsback from hamstring · 1 game backSoft-tissue return — recurrence risk is highest in the first games back.
  • Riley Garciaback from knee · 1 game back
CAR

Current injuries

The confirmed outs for both squads (12 across both), ranked by impact. Players in doubt are listed under Possible returns above.

WBD hold a slight availability edge (8 ongoing injuries to 7); CAR 4 of them long-term.

WBD5 out
  • Sam DarcyFWD
    LTI

    Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    Injury-proneDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Connor BudarickFWD
    LTI

    Ankle/Foot — High Ankle Sprain

    Moderate
    Injury-proneDue Aug 17
  • Bailey DaleDEF

    Shoulder — Shoulder Fracture

    Moderate
    Due Aug 26
  • Laitham VandermeerFWD
    Recurrence

    Hamstring — Hamstring Strain

    Minor
    FragileDue Jul 25
  • Nick CoffieldDEF

    Head/Neck — Concussion

    Minor
    Injury-proneDue this week

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.