Libby Birch
40
APPEARANCES
11
PODCASTS
Sep 9, 2026
Libby BirchGUEST
A huge response needed from Friot after what was a really surprising loss by them.
Libby BirchGUEST
So extraordinary little loss of form late in the season and I wonder whether the pressure is accumulating for them.
Libby BirchGUEST
The biggest issue looking at the game last week was They had 57 inside 50s for only five goals.
Jimmy BartelHOST
and so what about brandon walker then it looked pretty nasty when he rolled his ankle but you know whenever you roll your ankle you think you've broken your foot straight away and it gets a bit better a bit better each minute goes by is this as serious as first thought
Libby BirchGUEST
And I actually really enjoyed watching Brandon Walker, obviously a surprise inclusion, played on the Wizards.
Libby BirchGUEST
I thought I did some really good things on the Wizards before he rolled his angle.
Libby BirchGUEST
And sometimes, as you said, the pain and I guess the emotion of the moment can sort of outweigh the actual injury that's occurred.
Jimmy BartelHOST
and so what about brandon walker then it looked pretty nasty when he rolled his ankle but you know whenever you roll your ankle you think you've broken your foot straight away and it gets a bit better a bit better each minute goes by is this as serious as first thought
Libby BirchGUEST
And I actually really enjoyed watching Brandon Walker, obviously a surprise inclusion, played on the Wizards.
Libby BirchGUEST
I thought I did some really good things on the Wizards before he rolled his angle.
Libby BirchGUEST
And sometimes, as you said, the pain and I guess the emotion of the moment can sort of outweigh the actual injury that's occurred.
Jimmy BartelHOST
and so what about brandon walker then it looked pretty nasty when he rolled his ankle but you know whenever you roll your ankle you think you've broken your foot straight away and it gets a bit better a bit better each minute goes by is this as serious as first thought
Libby BirchGUEST
And I actually really enjoyed watching Brandon Walker, obviously a surprise inclusion, played on the Wizards.
Libby BirchGUEST
I thought I did some really good things on the Wizards before he rolled his angle.
Libby BirchGUEST
And sometimes, as you said, the pain and I guess the emotion of the moment can sort of outweigh the actual injury that's occurred.
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, well, obviously, Brio, the minor premiers, they've had a club record 19-win season.
Libby BirchGUEST
They've had an excellent balance all year, number one for points from clearance and scores from turnover differential.
Libby BirchGUEST
Obviously, Friday night at the MCG, Bulldogs taking on the Pies, and they are surprisingly, as you just spoke about, the Bulldogs coming from an impressive 21-point win over Melbourne.
Libby BirchGUEST
Bonds and Pally, Ed Richards in excellent form, and they beat Collingwood earlier in the season by four points.
Libby BirchGUEST
Injury watch, Norton expected to play despite his ankle, and Tim English could be a sneaky one coming back from an MCL injury, obviously.
Libby BirchGUEST
a big ruck that's really important to their team, although they have won the last couple of games without him.
Libby BirchGUEST
So that's an interesting one to see whether the Bulldogs pull that trigger with him.
Tony MoclairHOST
So now I'm not asking for any favouritism here, but how do you see this clinically Libby Birch?
Jimmy BartelHOST
Let's turn our attention, put your physiotherapist hat back on, and let's talk about Scott Pendlebury first.
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, so unfortunately there was a bit of, I guess, conjecture around his initial injury over the, the weekend just gone.
Libby BirchGUEST
Pendlebury obviously experienced some pain around the back of the knee, and the club was wondering whether it was related to that burster behind the knee or whether there was some hamstring involvement as well.
Libby BirchGUEST
And unfortunately, upon s-... scans, there is that hamstring strain which will sideline him for y- two to three weeks.
Libby BirchGUEST
We know with those older athletes, those strains are, are very common, and it is possible for this bursa to have already been inflamed.
Libby BirchGUEST
Um, the bursa is where sort of the hamstring attaches at the back of the knee, and so there is a bit of a connection there where the hamstrings were really tight and pulling on that attachment, hence why the bursa was quite inflamed as well in the knee.
Jimmy BartelHOST
Let's turn our attention, put your physiotherapist hat back on, and let's talk about Scott Pendlebury first.
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, so unfortunately there was a bit of, I guess, conjecture around his initial injury over the w- the weekend just gone.
Libby BirchGUEST
Pendlebury obviously experienced some pain around the back of the knee, and the club was wondering whether it was related to that bursa behind the knee or whether there was some hamstring involvement as well.
Libby BirchGUEST
And unfortunately, upon scans there is that hamstring strain which will sideline him for y- two to three weeks.
Libby BirchGUEST
We know with those older athletes, those strains are, are very common, and it is possible for this bursa to have already been inflamed.
Libby BirchGUEST
Um, the bursa is where sort of the hamstring attaches at the back of the knee, and so there is a bit of a connection there, whether the hamstrings were really tight and pulling on that attachment, hence why the bursa was quite inflamed as well in the knee.
Jimmy BartelHOST
Let's turn our attention, put your physiotherapist hat back on and let's talk about Scott Pendlebury first.
Libby BirchGUEST
So unfortunately, there was a bit of, I guess, conjecture around his initial injury over the, the weekend just gone.
Libby BirchGUEST
Pendlebury obviously experienced some pain around the back of the knee, and the club was wondering whether it was related to that bursa behind the knee or whether there was some hamstring involvement as well.
Libby BirchGUEST
And unfortunately, upon scans there is that hamstring strain, which will sideline him for y- two to three weeks.
Libby BirchGUEST
We know with those older athletes, those strains are, are very common and it is possible for this bursa to have already been inflamed.
Libby BirchGUEST
Um, the bursa is where sort of the hamstring attaches at the back of the knee, and so there is a bit of a connection there, whether the hamstrings were really tight and pulling on that attachment, hence why the bursa was quite inflamed as well in the knee.
Libby BirchGUEST
He's always chatting to people that, you know, our fans that come and watch us.
Libby BirchGUEST
Uh, you know, he'll go to a, a coffee shop in his local area, and people will be like, "Hey, Croc.
RabsPANELIST
Shameless.
Libby BirchGUEST
No, but honestly, it's been so incredible the last year to see, you know, so many kids enjoy the book.
Libby BirchGUEST
[laughs] And I think you've gotta acknowledge that and accept that you're gonna lose at some point, and Crocs' been very good about that, particularly with our leadership team, to say, "Hey, you know, we can't play perfect footy every week.
Libby BirchGUEST
We've been very lucky to win for 27 times in a row, but at some point we're gonna lose." And that's okay, and that's what footy is.
Libby BirchGUEST
Uh, and so I think over the off-season, our primary target has just been on focusing on us, and how we can get better, and how we can develop our players even more, how we can lift the standard of W even more.
10 MINS LATER
Andrew GazeHOST
Because that's the one we've gotta convert, not nec- and teach them ball skills, rather than someone that might have the hand-eye coordination that you can teach them how to run.
Libby BirchGUEST
I just think it's the next step for our game is to bring in, you know, that one club mentality.
Libby BirchGUEST
And obviously there's going to be four this year and hopefully that grows, you know, into the next couple of years.
Libby BirchGUEST
But I just think if someone, you know, maybe saw the game in the first couple of years, Andy, and was like, oh, look, it's new.
Libby BirchGUEST
But the, the MCL is the ligament on the inside of the knee, and really important for change of direction, overall stability of the knee.
Libby BirchGUEST
But it's actually probably the ligament that's the best to injure if you're gonna injure something in your knee.
Libby BirchGUEST
I've done a MCL before, quite a, a moderate grade one to a grade two, uh, which means m- most of the fibers are torn.
Libby BirchGUEST
His seems not too bad, so probably like a grade one, 'cause they're saying probably two weeks, two to three weeks.
Libby BirchGUEST
The issue with the MCL, uh, is that you need some time to heal, but then once there's one or two weeks, uh, in that initial healing phase, you can strap it up and play through it.
Libby BirchGUEST
But it depends how much pain Tim English wants to play through, because that's probably the only concern heading into finals for Tim English is, is managing the pain.
Libby BirchGUEST
But the, the MCL is the ligament on the inside of the knee and really important for change of direction, overall stability of the knee, but it's actually probably the ligament that's the best to injure if you're gonna injure something in your knee.
Libby BirchGUEST
I've done a MCL before, quite a, a moderate grade I to a grade II, uh, which means m- most of the fibers are torn.
Libby BirchGUEST
His seems not too bad, so probably like a grade I, 'cause they're saying probably two weeks, two to three weeks.
Libby BirchGUEST
The issue with the MCL, uh, is that you need some time to heal, but then once there's one or two weeks, uh, in that initial healing phase, you can strap it up and play through it.
Libby BirchGUEST
But it depends how much pain Tim English wants to play through, because that's probably the only concern heading into finals for Tim English is, is managing the pain.
Libby BirchGUEST
But the, the MCL is the ligament on the inside of the knee, and really important for change of direction, overall stability of the knee.
Libby BirchGUEST
But it's actually probably the ligament that's the best to injure if you're gonna injure something in your knee.
Libby BirchGUEST
I've done a MCL before, quite a, a moderate grade I to a grade II, uh, which means m- most of the fibers are torn.
Libby BirchGUEST
His seems not too bad, so probably, like, a grade I, 'cause they're saying probably two weeks, two to three weeks.
Libby BirchGUEST
The issue with the MCL, uh, is that you need some time to heal, but then once there's one or two weeks, uh, in that initial healing phase, you can strap it up and play through it.
Libby BirchGUEST
But it depends how much pain Tim English wants to play through, because that's probably the only concern heading into finals for Tim English is, is managing the pain.
Libby BirchGUEST
I'm pretty passionate about this, 'cause I thought that they actually made the right decision to play at a smaller venue for this particular game, because the growth itself was the actual game.
Libby BirchGUEST
It was the first time we were playing this game, and I didn't think we needed to go that big for a game we hadn't played before in our history.
5 MINS LATER
Caroline WilsonPANELIST
Is that fair? What, what did you think was the pass mark? Are you willing to say that, or is it a bit too-
Libby BirchGUEST
I, I've been really impressed with the depth of young talent that's coming through across our competition.
Libby BirchGUEST
I think Melbourne Demons are a club that I've obviously played for in the past.
Libby BirchGUEST
You know, your Brisbane's always super competitive, but I think Carlton's gonna be a smokey this year.
Libby BirchGUEST
Well, Libby's Footy Adventures, obviously it's been out for a year now, but we got this special photo for... at the Aus Island game.
Libby BirchGUEST
And a, a few of our girls obviously played from, from North Melbourne, and they came back to the club yesterday and just said how proud they were to represent their country.
Libby BirchGUEST
It's six to eight months of the year sometimes- Yeah ... they're staying the h- entire year, go away from home, go away from their sport to learn a completely different one.
Libby BirchGUEST
And there's so many incredible pioneers that, uh, have bravely, uh, flew the flag when they were young to play with the boys.
Libby BirchGUEST
But I didn't even, uh, do that as an opportunity, 'cause I knew that there was nothing to play for or nothing to get to on a national stage.
Georgie TrickettHOST
What do you think is unique and special and worth being celebrated when it comes to AFLW?
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, I think our game is so special in that going back probably 10 years, the game was always a place where everyone felt welcomed, whether that was our LGBTIQ community, you know, internationals.
Libby BirchGUEST
I just feel like this game was very, very inclusive from the start and also very family orientated.
Libby BirchGUEST
And I think that's what makes our game unique in that it's always been a place where people can come and be themselves and where women, young boys, young girls, families can come and enjoy the footy at boutique stadiums and see...
Libby BirchGUEST
And I think that the game is continually growing with personalities, with the youngsters that are on TikTok and Instagram now and providing new energy to the game, which I think is super exciting and new connections with fans.
Libby BirchGUEST
But I just think, you know, it is special in that way that, you know, when people come to the game, it's about the feeling.
Libby TrickettHOST
Can you tell us how injury management has kind of changed over the last decade of women playing this sport?
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, it was horrifying for everyone on the field and obviously anyone watching.
Libby BirchGUEST
And he's had a fair few leg fractures in the past, so a little bit susceptible to this type of injury.
Libby BirchGUEST
But what happens with the ankle dislocation is obviously it's dislocated from the joint, but that's not the primary issue.
Libby BirchGUEST
When the ankle dislocates, it can sometimes chip off part of the end of the tibia or the fibula, which is the lower part of your leg, and obviously stretch all the major ligaments that keep your ankle nice and tight.
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, it was, it was horrifying for everyone on the field, and obviously a- anyone watching.
Libby BirchGUEST
And th- these ones are quite serious, and he's, he's had a, a fair few leg fractures in the past, so a little bit susceptible to this type of injury.
Libby BirchGUEST
But what happens with the ankle dislocation is obviously it's, it's dislocated from the joint, but that's not the, the primary issue.
Libby BirchGUEST
What happens is when the joint, uh, when, when the ankle dislocates, it can sometimes chip off part of, you know, the end of the tibia or the fibula, which is the lower part of your leg, uh, and obviously stretch all the major ligaments that keep your ankle nice and tight.
Libby BirchGUEST
Obviously, it looks quite deformed, but it's, you know, everything surrounding that that has caused the damage.
Libby BirchGUEST
Yeah, it was horrifying for everyone on the field and obviously anyone watching.
Libby BirchGUEST
And he's had a fair few leg fractures in the past, so a little bit susceptible to this type of injury.
Libby BirchGUEST
But what happens with the ankle dislocation is obviously it's dislocated from the joint, but that's not the primary issue.
Libby BirchGUEST
When the ankle dislocates, it can sometimes chip off part of the end of the tibia or the fibula, which is the lower part of your leg, and obviously stretch all the major ligaments that keep your ankle nice and tight.
speaker_0HOST
Uh, Lib, it is over to you.
speaker_0HOST
Start from the one and build it up.
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