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Live sport on SN this weekendWarriors doctor links Magic Round surface to heightened ACL injury risk
Sport Nation •  August 7th, 2026 1:04 pm
Mark Fulcher (left) assists Tanah Boyd from the Suncorp Stadium field | Photo: Photosport
New Zealand Warriors doctor Mark Fulcher has raised concerns over the playing surface at Magic Round, believing the wet and heavily used Suncorp Stadium field may have contributed to an increased ACL injury risk.
Halfback Tanah Boyd ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a non-contact incident during the Magic Round clash against the Brisbane Broncos.
Fulcher said while ACL injuries are complex and can never be completely prevented, the conditions players are asked to perform in must be part of the conversation.
"There've been instances where players have been asked to play on fields and in conditions where they perhaps shouldn't have been," he told Sport Nation’s Millsy & Guy.
“One of the things that I was quite uncomfortable with was Magic Round. You've got nine games on one ground in a weekend where it was raining and running onto that field, it was pretty soft, it was very unstable."
Tanah Boyd suffered an ACL injury in the Warriors' match against Brisbane | Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP
“It's an injury that it's really multifactorial. We know that we can reduce the risk of injury with an ACL injury, it's one of the best studied injuries in all of sports medicine, but you can't eliminate that risk,” he explained.
“I think it's a combination of lots of things that I think have led to the Warriors certainly having more ACL injuries than we'd like over the last couple of seasons.”
Fulcher stressed Warriors players were not opposed to Magic Round itself, with the annual event remaining a highlight on the NRL calendar, but said there were potential issues when viewed through a medical and scientific lens.
“Certainly none of the players are complaining about playing a Magic Round. They love it. But from a purely sort of medical and scientific point of view, there are some potential problems there.”
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While many fear ACL injuries are quickly becoming more common, Fulcher believes awareness for the injury has instead grown.
“I think the average football fan watching from the TV knows about ACL injuries. This is something that when they happen, we're much better at identifying and talking about them.”
While the Magic Round surface was one concern, Fulcher said fatigue over the course of a season also plays a major role in increasing ACL risk.
“The biggest things that impact that are fatigue, so I think players get tired over the season and they become less able to control their body, they're less able to take load away from their knee and the ACL.”
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Dylan Brown, Luke Brooks and J'maine Hopgood are among other players in the NRL to injure their ACL in the 2026 season.
Listen to the full interview below:
