BASKETBALL
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Wollongong's injury crisis has got so bad that coach Gordie McLeod has scrutinised his team's training program.
The Hawks are having their worst year in club history in terms of injuries.
Since the start of the season, Wollongong have been without the services of six of their 11 contracted players at different stages.
Tim Coenraad missed the first 13 games with plantar fasciitis, Tyson Demos had separate two-game and five-game stints on the sidelines with knee problems, Larry Davidson sat out four matches with a broken rib and Dan Jackson missed three with a calf injury.
Unfortunately that was only the tip of the iceberg.
Starting guards Lance Hurdle and Rhys Martin went down a fortnight ago with season-ending knee injuries, while Demos has suffered a new knee injury - this time to his left knee - and will miss tonight's home clash with the New Zealand Breakers.
A bemused McLeod wondered if his side's weekly workload was taking a toll.
"The difficult thing is you just question all the things that you do, because you're wondering if anything that you're doing is a contributing factor [to the injuries]," he said.
"But when you look at it from that perspective, there's no common sense to it. We're not overloading the guys or doing anything unusual.
"Guys getting broken ribs in a game, guys getting bumped and landing awkwardly and doing their ACL, you can't do anything about that."
Demos had taken Hurdle's place in the starting five before his latest setback.
Tim Coenraad will probably move to the starting two-spot.