Adelaide have had a risky coaching decision backfire terribly, with Josh Worrell suffering a wrist injury just minutes after the Crows subbed Daniel Curtin out of their AFL clash with Brisbane game for tactical reasons.
Despite no injury, Curtain was subbed out of the game at half time after just five touches in the first half.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Josh Worrell goes down just after Adelaide make their sub.
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It was a bold move from Matthew Nicks and his coaching staff to pull the trigger that early in the game, given it meant they ran the risk of playing one short if they suffered an injury.
Three-time Richmond premiership player Jack Riewoldt had his concerns immediately.
“That’s a big call, to make the sub at half time,” he said.
“If you cop an injury now… It was a tactical sub — that’s a big call to make at half time.”
Sure enough, true to Murphy’s law, Worrell went down barely two minutes later after getting his hand caught under his body in a crunching Cam Rayner tackle.
“This is why making the sub is really risky, when you do it at half time, when that player (subbed out) is not injured,” Riewoldt said.
Four-time Hawthorn premiership hero Jordan Lewis agreed with Riewoldt.
“There’s so much that can happen during the game,” Lewis said.
“Now, there’s an injury in the first three minutes, so you don’t predict that happening.
“But you do tie your hands if you pull the trigger early on.”
Riewoldt added: “It’s high risk. Players have gone inside (at half time), got cold, potentially haven’t warmed back up again.
“You can’t predict the injury, but still, I would think that five to 10 minutes, you’d think ‘just wait and see’. And even give the player — he’s been subbed out, so he’s not having a great game — but just give him a chance to maybe find his way back and actually show something and fight back during the second half.”
Worrell came off the ground in the hands of Adelaide trainers as he cradled his arm.
“That’s a lot of pain that he’s in,” Dwayne Russell said.
It meant Curtain was stranded on the bench, unable to come on the ground, despite being fully fit
Worrell took no further part in the game.
“Got our fingers crossed for ‘Woz’,” the Crows said.