News Andrew Russell to step away at season’s end

[Aphrodite]

Russell to step away at season’s end

Andrew Russell will step away from football at the conclusion of the 2024 AFL season.

www.carltonfc.com.au

THE Carlton Football Club can confirm that after 26 years within the AFL industry, Director of High Performance Andrew Russell will step away from football at the conclusion of the 2024 AFL season.

Following six seasons at the Blues, in which time he led high performance, Russell will conclude his time at the Club, with his current contract set to expire at season’s end.

 

[teddy-hopkins]

So you were there in those meetings. You were there when he overruled everyone else to cause all of the injuries.
EGO much.

He's been sacked for no reason then?

 

[Blue Pulse]

While we are at it, I feel we need a varied medical team if we don't already have one and I will explain my case:

Played footy for 30 years, amateur level and had heaps of injuries, some clashes, some were just wear and tear. I paid for my repairs not the club. I had a great physio, sport science doctor, chiropractor etc Had a couple of injuries where I went outside the box to get them fixed when others couldn't, including a severe neck injury.

Example:
I had a calf problem which the sport science doctor labelled 2k syndrome. Basically, in my case I would run 100m and my calf would tighten as if cramping and felt if I pushed it, it would tear. This went on for 6 weeks while getting dry needling, massages, ultra sounds etc. Nothing worked.
Went and saw a A guy who had fixed a serious neck injury for me in the past, he was like a Mr Miaggi. Chinese, Martial arts, etc but was a Chiropractor, and herbalist etc brought out to Australian by Chinese business men to take care of them.
Anyway saw him, told him my problem, which had now been going on for 6 weeks, in his broken English, he said something like "bull5h1t". He grabbed my calf, stuck his fingers into the muscles, minced them and said, "all Good" Paid him in cash and left.

Next night at training, ran past my usual punctured tyre spot and kept running, completed the whole session, no reoccurrence.

Moral of the story, if we are struggling to put guys on the park from reoccurring injuries, let's go outside the box and ask for help, even from other clubs medical teams

 

[jj1978]

While we are at it, I feel we need a varied medical team if we don't already have one and I will explain my case:

Played footy for 30 years, amateur level and had heaps of injuries, some clashes, some were just wear and tear. I paid for my repairs not the club. I had a great physio, sport science doctor, chiropractor etc Had a couple of injuries where I went outside the box to get them fixed when others couldn't, including a severe neck injury.

Example:
I had a calf problem which the sport science doctor labelled 2k syndrome. Basically, in my case I would run 100m and my calf would tighten as if cramping and felt if I pushed it, it would tear. This went on for 6 weeks while getting dry needling, massages, ultra sounds etc. Nothing worked.
Went and saw a A guy who had fixed a serious neck injury for me in the past, he was like a Mr Miaggi. Chinese, Martial arts, etc but was a Chiropractor, and herbalist etc brought out to Australian by Chinese business men to take care of them.
Anyway saw him, told him my problem, which had now been going on for 6 weeks, in his broken English, he said something like "bull5h1t". He grabbed my calf, stuck his fingers into the muscles, minced them and said, "all Good" Paid him in cash and left.

Next night at training, ran past my usual punctured tyre spot and kept running, completed the whole session, no reoccurrence.

Moral of the story, if we are struggling to put guys on the park from reoccurring injuries, let's go outside the box and ask for help, even from other clubs medical teams

Knowing our luck we'll end up sending them to Dr Nick Riviera.

 

[mochacinolatte]

Was living off the Hawthorn sucess. I don't know how our squad was perennial injured.

 

[Red_man2008]

Inniss has been poached from Sydney.

Blues poach rival fitness guru as new high-performance boss

Sammy Edmund has the latest.

www.sen.com.au

 

[Juice030103]

Couldn’t be happier he’s a jet

 

[Juice030103]

No more excuses for the players now


If you can’t get fit under this guy you’re either already cooked or you’re not training properly and you need to go

 

[Coops93]

This was posted in a reply to the match preview thread, but I feel like it probably belongs in here given it's about injury and recovery. It could be good to be able to reflect on it potentially down the track as opposed to being lost in a preview thread as hopefully Doc will be out there for more than just this weekend! I've also added some more info in as I've come across it.

Also - part of me is curious about how much Russell may have had to do with it - maybe someone knows that answer to that?


What I've learned about Docs most recent procedure is that it was a Quad graft (QT) as opposed to a more traditional hamstring graft (HS).

What I understand from that is that the QT has been found to actually be stronger and with a potentially faster recovery time than the Hamstring. Dan McStay also had a QT and managed to play in season despite the injury occuring pre-season and in a timeframe that would normally not be realistic. So, both had the same procedure, and both came back well before traditional methods would suggest.

I think a lot of the anxiety around Doc specifically is perhaps the layman understanding of ACL surgeries and rehab - I include myself in this, I've only learned about the below since learning Doc had a QT and looking into what that actually is.

A brief overview from some reading I've done (mashed together from 2 or 3 journals):

The biomechanical properties of a QT autograft are favorable compared to a bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) or a doubled hamstring (HS) autograft. A QT autograft is associated with less donor site morbidity, such as anterior knee pain and difficulty with kneeling, than a BPTB autograft. It can be harvested as a full or partial thickness graft with or without a bone block (BB).23 Compared with a BPTB autograft, QT is longer, wider and has a higher tensile strength and about 50% more mass.62 Its cross-sectional area is also nearly twice as big as that of a BPTB autograft. Other advantages include less risk of infection compared with HS,64 less anterior knee pain,65 less donor site morbidity, less risk of injury to the infrasaphenous branch and low rate of quad strength deficit

More favourable biochemical connection, stronger (can handle more tensile stress) thicker and larger with less associated side effects on the knee would suggest faster recovery and quicker strength regeneration due to being able to start rehab sooner and perhaps with more vigour. The downside to this surgery seems to be reduced quad strength - though only nominal. One journal said it's common, another (pasted in the above) says it's minimal, so perhaps that's down to the individual more than an overall side effect.

They've emphasised several times that he's being hitting his strength markers for a little while now so you'd think that weakness has been alleviated. The stronger graft with a guy who's had the most expert of expert rehab training and education in combination perhaps is the simple answer to an anxiety inducting proposition. The extra x-factor here is Docs individual professionalism and mindset, which we know is off the charts.

Given all that perhaps this isn't quite the remarkable risk we think it is, but rather a more modern technique combined with an uber professional leading to exceptional outcomes.


I also came across this nugget which I found interesting and perhaps forecasting that we may even see more of this in the future:

In addition to anatomical individualised surgery, it is likely that, in the near future, there may be a decrease in the use of HS autograft ACLR, given its inferior results,53, 54 and a rise in QT autograft, given its versatility and good outcomes.

• Increased load to failure.
• More collagen and higher fibroblast density.
• Stronger remaining tendon after harvest.

Spoiler: Dot point comparison between HS & QT

Hamstring (HS) autografts​

• •
  Improved results when performed in conjunction with LET.61
• •
  Can be used in skeletally mature or immature.
• •
  Avoid in sports that rely heavily on HSs (ie, sprinters).
• •
  Can be used in ACLs with large footprints.
• •
  Can be used for single-bundle or double-bundle reconstructions.

Quadriceps tendon autografts​

• •
  Can be used with or without bone block (BB).
• •
  Can be used in skeletally mature or immature (if no BB used).
• •
  Can be used in ACLs with large footprints.
• •
  Can be used for single-bundle or double-bundle reconstruction.
• •
  Can be performed in athletes who kneel (ie, wrestling and judo) or in those who rely on HSs (ie, sprinters).
• •
  Excellent revision option
  • Increased load to failure.
  • More collagen and higher fibroblast density.
  • Stronger remaining tendon after harvest.

Doc (& McStay fwiw, but who cares about him here, right?) may just be the trailblazer for a new ACLR treatment in the AFL.

Just want to caveat all that with that I work in the medical industry but am not an expert in these areas, the above is just on a couple journals and other more superficial articles I've been able to find. References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8733128/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10356633/

Editorial Commentary: Quadriceps Tendon Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Shows Advantages and Disadvantages - PubMed

A quadriceps tendon autograft is becoming an increasingly popular graft option for both primary and revision ACL reconstruction. The biomechanical properties of a QT autograft are favorable compared to a bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) or a doubled hamstring (HS) autograft. A QT autograft is...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

ACL reconstruction in the professional or elite athlete: state of the art

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are on the rise at all levels of sport, including elite athletics. ACL injury can have implications on the a…

www.sciencedirect.com

https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/quad-tendon-autografts-a-prime-choice-for-acl-reconstruction

 

[myblueroan]

Couldn’t be happier he’s a jet

Read up on him and very pleased.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

 

[Ninja Worrier]

Bugger Innes, I want Chinese miyagi

 

[El Topo]

When Cook earlier in the year goes on radio (SEN) pre Pies game and says things to effect, it's a combination of players physiology and strength and conditioning and we're looking into how we can improve these things. Any wonder he's read the tea-leaves and another year like this would destroy any cred he had as 1 year unlucky, 2nd year just a co-incidence, 3rd year in a row would be WTF? Why would he want to pressure himself continuing, he's had 20 years in the AFL made good coin and can go off and make decent coin outside the bubble.

Also funny how now list management is also rumoured to be offloading the physiologically incapable of consistent output.

Then you have Voss a few weeks ago in his presser about weeks of dialogue with Russell and it didn't sound like we were super eager to beg him to stay.

Internal review must of been done, hints and pressure has been applied and outcomes are becoming more apparent.

This x1000. Good organisations can review/refresh/etc without publicly executing the persons involved, CFC has been doing things the other way for far too long

 

[Juddernaut08]

Yeah look Russell no doubt has had incredible success at the Hawks and is/was respected for being a thought leader.

But in his industry, and in life, we are judged by results. His track record with the Blues has not been good enough. Are there multiple factors that affect injury? Sure. Has his tenure seen good improvement in overall fitness? Probably.

Still, to be derailed by injury to the extent we have...questions were rightly asked.

Hope Inness can continue the success he's seen at Tiges and Swans.

 

[slashin_velvet]

Knowing our luck we'll end up sending them to Dr Nick Riviera.

Well if it isn't my old friend Mr McGreg

 

[mjonc43]

From villain to hero, could the miracle 6 return and deliver results for the exiting HPM.

 

[LanceRomance]

I found this footage of Russell fixing TDKs foot

I'm not sure what went wrong at carlton for Russell, or even if it was his fault. He has been extremely successful in the past and I suspect he will be again where ever he goes.

 

[Thrawn]

Every time I see the word "guru" used when hiring someone, it always ends up badly.

 

[teddy-hopkins]

Was living off the Hawthorn sucess. I don't know how our squad was perennial injured.

So if you are looking for a blueprint....

You start training with full intensity in December / January and flog the players to beyond their breaking point for months on end and then by the time games come around they all start breaking down and then you've only got another 24 rounds plus finals to go. If you're not seeing the number of injuries you were hoping for in the early rounds don't stress out - you just significantly ramp up their training loads during the first 4 weeks of the season.

Some might say that to ramp up training loads when games have already started and you've already copped numerous injuries sounds like a dumb idea. Don't listen to them. Go your hardest.

 

[Arr0w]

Lucky for new bloke, we are finally moving on the injury prone