I think WU was also quite lucky early on.
Another factor could be fatigue. Nathan Burns gave an interview last year where he talked about the Nix. He said Rudan worked them too hard at the start and they were worn out at the end, Rudan couldn't manage load but the good coaches have the teams peaking at the finals when the phoenix were over done. I wonder if he's got the same issue but it's come earlier because the team is older.
injuries are all part of managing a squad in order to win - perhaps Rudan's preference for working players really hard is resulting in these injuries? Maybe his man-management isn't as good as his vision and back office transformation skills?
You're onto it.
We had very few injuries last year, which was a factor in us making the top six. So the pre season fitness regime seemed to work for Rudan last year (or is that more down to the S&C coach Wivell?). So this year I wonder if Rudan's fitness regime coupled with the harder grounds in Aus is a factor for the older players at WU when it comes to all injuries they have been having.