The Gold Coast Suns have admitted they took a losing punt on Adam Saad's hamstring in the lead up to the round-eight clash with Greater Western Sydney, playing the 21-year-old knowing he risked further injury.
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Coach Rodney Eade said Saad felt a "twinge" in the pre-game warm-up but that the Suns chose to play him with no available emergencies due to the club's horrendous run with injury.
Eade revealed the risky call during an interview this week with Perth radio 6PR. "We took a risk with him and we thought he might go and he did," said the Suns' coach, who added that all the Gold Coast emergencies had played in the NEAFL curtain-raiser.
Saad limped off with a hamstring injury early in the third quarter. The out-of-contract explosive half-back will miss at least three weeks.
Football boss Marcus Ashcroft told Fairfax Media that the call from the Suns' doctor and fitness boss Justin Cordy was that Saad could be managed through the game, starting on the bench with minimum match time.
"It was a risk but it was more calculated than that," said Ashcroft. "If we thought it was really risky we wouldn't have done it."
Ashcroft said the injury-plagued Suns considered playing one of their reserves players but decided that, too, was a high-risk strategy while the club also looked at starting the game with 21 players.
Just five senior-listed players took part in the NEAFL clash, with one emergency Peter Wright a late withdrawal; a second, Danny Stanley injuring his hamstring; and a third, Luke Russell damaging his ankle during the game.
This weekend's clash with Sydney at Metricon Stadium could see just two emergencies available although Ashcroft said Gary Ablett, Aaron Hall and Tom Nicholls would all return, along with Steven May who is back from suspension.
The Suns' football boss said he had never experienced such a drastic run of injury, stressing that most of the club's woes related to high impact and collision issues.
"We don't like to use excuses or talk about it too much," said Ashcroft, "but I haven't experienced anything like this. The good news is that over the next fortnight we'll start to get players back and by round s 11 and 12 we'll get eight players back who we count in our best 22."
Meanwhile, Brisbane's Dayne Beams will undergo further surgery in Melbourne on Thursday and is unlikely to play again this season.
