Swans unhappy at ANZ after Hall injury - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Swans unhappy at ANZ after Hall injury

By Roger Vaughan 13/04/2008 06:09:42 PM Comments (0)

The AFL has defended the playing conditions at ANZ Stadium following Barry Hall's broken wrist in his eventful match.

Swans coach Paul Roos said it was "completely unacceptable" that Hall suffered the injury when he ran into the advertising hoarding along the boundary fence.

Hall's hand went straight through the hoarding and smashed into the fence behind, causing the injury.

He also suffered a cut to the head in the impact after he ran into the fence at a fast pace.

Soon after the match, AFL ground operations manager Jill Lindsay inspected the area where Hall suffered his injury.

"It's five metres from the boundary line to the fence at ANZ Stadium and we ask it to be about four," an AFL spokesman said.

But speaking on Melbourne's Triple M radio, Roos said something needed to be done.

"That's completely unacceptable ... Hally put his hand up and went straight through that plastic or cardboard awning," Roos said.

"To lose a player like that, I think there's an issue of player safety that needs to be addressed and I'm not sure whether that's an AFL issue or who's responsible for all that.

"It's not about pointing the finger, it's about making sure it doesn't happen again."

Hall will have an operation Monday on his wrist, but is facing a lengthy suspension anyway for punching West Coast opponent Brent Staker earlier in the match.

Staker did not return to the field after being knocked out by the blow and it remains unclear whether he will play next weekend.

Swans ruckman Darren Jolly also rolled his ankle in the match, but Roos expects he will not miss any games.

Meanwhile, Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd remains unsure about the severity of the calf muscle injury that forced him out of Friday night's loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Lloyd pulled up sore from the win over Carlton and will undergo a scan to clarify whether the calf has just been sore or whether there is something more serious.

"I got through the game against the Blues, I woke up the next morning and couldn't walk down my stairs," he said.

"I thought it was just muscle soreness, which I'm still hoping it is, but I wasn't good enough to train on Thursday."

The Bombers lost Mark McVeigh and Sam Lonergan with hamstring injuries early in the last term on Friday night, prompting coach Matthew Knights to say the Bombers would thoroughly investigate their growing hamstring crisis.

"We are playing a different style of game and we have a young side, so maybe it is taking a bit of a toll," Lloyd said.

"Also, I reckon the AFL should look at three six-day breaks in a row, maybe that shouldn't happen to any side.

"It can bring on injuries, especially at Telstra Dome and the way the game is going.

"I'm actually looking for a spell for the first time in my career in a game."

Sam Mitchell and Tim Boyle were late withdrawals from the Hawthorn side that beat Adelaide, but they are expected to return for the trip to Brisbane.

As expected, scans showed North Melbourne defender Josh Gibson will need cartilage surgery on his left knee, sidelining him for two to three weeks.

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