Bartel hits back at coach's 'simplistic' injury excuse

Jimmy Bartel says it's "too simplistic" of a view that a game of AFL is too long for players, as the league injury list blows out to an all-time high.

The AFL currently has 157 players across all 18 clubs sidelined with injuries.

It comes as Collingwood coach Craig McRae has questioned the length of matches, as well as how many rounds a season now lasts.

Currently, including the AFL's newest venture Opening Round, there are 24 home-and-away games across a season.

That doesn't include four weeks of finals and multiple pre-season games.

McRae, whose injury list at the Magpies is growing by the week, wonders what the game can do to ease the physical pressures on players.

"I just feel like, the game itself, we're asking a lot of our players," McRae said on SEN radio.

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"Is the game too long? Do we start the season earlier? Don't know, there's still 15 rounds to go.

"There is something to be said. The game is giving us feedback - 150 players out (injured), that's giving us feedback."

Crow Josh Worrell injured his wrist recently.

Magpies veteran Scott Pendlebury, who is on the verge of cracking 400 games, echoed McRae's sentiment.

"It feels different to maybe five years ago, where it was a bit more of a sprint to the end of the season," Pendlebury said on 3AW radio.

"Now it's more of a marathon. Sides are going to ebb-and-flow with form and injuries."

But Bartel has hit back at the Collingwood pair's comments, urging the AFL and its teams to look into why so many injuries are occurring, instead of putting it down to how long games and seasons are.

De Goey is now sidelined with a different injury.

"It's too simplistic for us to say the game is too long," Bartel said on Nine's Footy Classified on Wednesday night.

"The game length has been around about that length for pretty much the last 100 years."

The Geelong champion, who also played 305 games over 15 years, says the improvement of medical programs should result in less injuries.

"Medical and strength and conditioning has improved out of sight, but we've got injuries going up," he said.

But beyond that, there are other elements of the game that Bartel wants to see addressed, instead of coaches simply complaining about the game's length, which hasn't changed in years.

"So, we've got to look at strength and conditioning," he said.

"Obviously concussion reporting has improved, which adds to the element of how many injuries are on the list.

"(We need to look into) the demand on players, the interchange, when are they getting injured, transition style.

"There's still six or seven other questions that need to be put in that.

"It's a little bit too simplistic to say the game is too long."

Journalist Damien Barrett added his thoughts, declaring that McRae's concerns really only worry the Pies, not the rest of the league or sides with minimal injuries.

"I think it's a specific Collingwood issue. Part of that is that they're about to make their fifth (and sixth) players a debutant this week," Barrett said.

The Pies will be without star midfielder Jordan De Goey against Fremantle on Friday night, after he suffered an abdominal strain.

It makes way for two debutants, 2022 draftee Ed Allen and former Victorian cricketer Wil Parker.