{"id":556724,"date":"2026-03-22T09:31:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T09:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/556724\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T09:31:18","slug":"afl-news-2026-port-adelaide-captain-connor-rozee-latest-to-suffer-hamstring-injury-essendon-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/556724\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL news 2026 | Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee latest to suffer hamstring injury; Essendon loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Port Adelaide<\/a> skipper Connor Rozee is the latest AFL<\/a> player to hit the sidelines with a suspected hamstring issue, with AFL greats alarmed about the growing injury trend.<\/p>\n

Rozee lasted three quarters on the field in the Power’s 20.13 (133) to 10.10 (70) win over the Bombers<\/a> on Sunday after he appeared to suffer some nerve damage to his buttock.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old was attempting to make a tackle when he missed his leap and hit the ground, immediately clutching at his hamstring. <\/p>\n

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Trainers were quick to assist him from the field in the third term, although Rozee told Fox Footy after the match that this injury “felt different” to a normal hamstring concern. It was later revealed that he had a little bit of numbness in his leg.<\/p>\n

“He’s on crutches and he said, ‘I’ve done a few hamstrings before – this one felt different,” caller Kelli Underwood revealed.<\/p>\n

\"Connor<\/p>\n

Connor Rozee is injured.\u00a0AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“He said he felt a real niggle and spasm at the time. He does fear that it may be a tendon injury to that hamstring, which we know previously players who have suffered this – whether or not they need surgery – it can be an eight to 12-week injury.”<\/p>\n

The absence of Rozee over a potential three-month period would be costly for the side, with former coach Ken Hinkley declaring he is simply “not a replaceable player.”<\/p>\n

It is unclear to what extent Rozee’s injury is at this time but he will undergo scans on the area over the coming days.<\/p>\n

But his injury will only add more alarm to Nine’s Sunday Footy panel, who recognised that there is an alarming trend of hamstring injuries now creeping into the game.<\/p>\n

In the space of 24 hours, five players across various teams suffered hamstring injuries in round two. Rozee’s injury became the sixth in the 48 hour period.<\/p>\n

\"Connor<\/p>\n

Connor Rozee leaves the field on crutches as he joins teammates in celebrating their win.\u00a0AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Tom Lynch, Toby Nankervis, Christian Petracca, Callum Ah Chee and Anthony Caminiti have finished matches on the bench this week due to hamstring concerns. <\/p>\n

Petracca has been confirmed as unavailable in the medium-term for the Suns. <\/p>\n

The rule changes that have led to a faster game and fewer stoppages have been floated as a primary reason for this injury trend, with players not accustom yet.<\/p>\n

“But (high performance) staff would have been all over this in the summer,” Rory Sloane said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.<\/p>\n

“They would have been ramping up the high speed and metres (training strategies) to counteract this, knowing that there will be less stoppages and a higher intensity.<\/p>\n

“Players and staff should be all over this, but we are seeing a few injuries that could suggest there are more to come.”<\/p>\n

\"Christian<\/p>\n

Christian Petracca is seen with ice on his leg.\u00a0AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nine reporter Tony Jones questioned if it is simply a stint of “bad luck” for some players, a question that Matthew Lloyd<\/a> does not believe anyone can answer until later this year.<\/p>\n

But Llyod was not afraid to point out the key draw changes that could be playing a part in this trend.<\/p>\n

“It is a lot in one round,” he said, after hearing all the names of injured players.<\/p>\n

“Yes, players might have programs, but you don’t train anywhere near what you do on your own (compared to) when you are with the team.<\/p>\n

“We’re training less and the games are getting faster and earlier.<\/p>\n

“The AFL Players Association and the players are asking for more time off, and the season is starting earlier than ever before.”<\/p>\n

Sloane added: “The first month of footy is always more intense too. The game slows down as the season gets on.”<\/p>\n

Rozee was not the only player added to the injury lists for this round, with his teammate Miles Bergman leaving the field with an ankle concern following a marking contest.<\/p>\n

The Power will host the West Coast Eagles next Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Port Adelaide skipper Connor Rozee is the latest AFL player to hit the sidelines with a suspected hamstring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-556724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}