Rival AFL coaches Chris Scott and Alastair Clarkson separately said the same thing after their round-one wins.
It’s never a good sign when an injured player fails to return to the field.
Veteran Geelong defender Harry Taylor was forced off in the first quarter of Sunday’s nailbiting win over Melbourne and rising Hawks star Ryan Burton suffered the same fate before halftime on Saturday night against Collingwood.
Taylor (plantar fascia) and Burton (ankle) are in some doubt for the Cats-Hawks Easter Monday blockbuster.
The Cats backman told Channel Seven at halftime he had been dealing with a problem ahead of the match.
Burton was hurt when he stepped on the shoe of opponent Jaidyn Stephenson.
But the Cats are set to regain star onballer Patrick Dangerfield after he missed Sunday’s match with a hamstring strain.
The most serious injury from round one was the second anterior cruciate ligament rupture of Tom Liberatore’s AFL career.
The Western Bulldogs midfielder suffered the injury to his right knee, while the same injury to the left knee sidelined him for the 2015 season.
Liberatore will need another reconstruction, ending this season for him as well.
Port Adelaide’s All-Australian ruckman Paddy Ryder also was sidelined on Saturday with Achilles tendon soreness.
Ryder has struggled with Achilles problems for several seasons and the worry for Port is he could miss several weeks.
Star Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer struggled with a groin injury after halftime in Thursday night’s loss to Richmond.