Marshall confirmed to return, Fyfe uncertainty, Eagles guns set to return
Rowan Marshall is a confirmed starter for St Kilda this weekend, while uncertainty continues for Nat Fyfe and the West Coast Eagles are set to get a host of players back making their rookies’ job security shaky.
THURSDAY TEAM NEWS
Ins: Zorko, Henderson
Outs: Mathieson, Berry, Duncan (inj), Narkle
Holds: Robertson, Madden
UPDATES
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten confirmed that Rowan Marshall (AF $648k SC $497k F/R) “will play” after missing several weeks with a foot injury, but with managed minutes.
Ratten said: “He’s in the team. He’ll play. He’s probably underdone slightly. He’s a quality player and we need him to play.
“We’ve got roughly a threshold (for managed minutes), but we think we can do that with just some smart rotations and where he starts (on the ground). If we go over, we go over, that’s part of the game, but we’re pretty comfortable we’ll get to where we want to get.”
The Nat Fyfe (AF $659k M/F SC $538k M/F*) saga rolls on, with Freo coach Justin Longmuir speaking to the media about his shoulder injury on Wednesday.
Longmuir said: “He’s getting better everyday, we’ll be driven by him & how he’s feeling. Today’s session will be really important so we’re hopeful. We’ll give him further responsibility on the decision.”
West Coast put out their weekly injury update and the troops are coming back en masse.
The update mentioned Tim Kelly‘s (AF $656k SC $491k MID) and Jeremy McGovern (AF $542k SC $484k DEF) both simply need to get through training to prove their availability.
Kelly’s will impact Luke Edwards‘ (AF $241k SC $117k MID) role and/or selection and McGovern’s will impact Harry Edwards‘ (AF $292k SC $252k DEF) selection.
The Suns confirmed in their weekly injury update that Lachie Weller (AF $526k SC $352k D/M) will miss a few weeks.
Suns Head Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said: “It’s probably in the lower end of hamstring injuries in terms of how bad they can be. That’ll likely be a couple of weeks missed for Lachie.”
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin confirmed Jack Viney (AF $687k SC $500k MID) will return this round, which may impact James Harmes (AF $579k SC $449k D/M) and/or James Jordon (AF $539k SC $387k MID) in their roles.
TOMORROW
There’s bulk press conferences plus the Thursday teams for the weekend. Among pressers are Leon Cameron, David Teague, Ben Rutten, Damien Hardwick, Alastair Clarkson, Ken Hinkley, Adam Simpson and David Noble.