R17 Rolling Injury Report: Whitfield worry, Jiath knee, Butters out for a month
Stay up to date throughout the round with our rolling injury report from the coaches post-game. With the nine-game round extending from Thursday night through until Monday night, these snippets of info will be key.
Honeyball SC BBL memberships are on sale! Only $35 season offer or $20 per month. Get access to all HB content, plus our exclusive injury list, comprehensive global T20 leagues form guide, HB Twitter & Whatsapp chats, entry into our members-only SC group (with a SC Champion ring for the winner) and more.
West Coast v North Melbourne
Neither side used their sub. But Elliot Yeo (AF $606k SC $446k MID) seemed to have a limp late. West Coast coach Adam Simpson said: “I think he rolled his ankle a couple of times in the last (quarter). He had ice on his ankle after the game.”
Richmond v Collingwood
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said Toby Nankervis (AF $628k SC $468k RUCK) is “less likely to get up next week” after being close this round to returning from a knee issue.
Collingwood subbed out Will Kelly (AF $171k SC $135k FWD) early. Pies interim coach Rob Harvey said: “All the information we have is we think he’s got some sort of injury to his quad. He’s had a wretched run. We don’t know the extent of it but it looks like he’ll miss a couple at least.”
Western Bulldogs v Sydney
Neither side used their sub.
GWS Giants v Gold Coast
Lachie Whitfield (AF $770k SC $529k D/M) was subbed out although GWS Giants coach Leon Cameron clarified the situation. He said: “Not necessarily (ruled out of next week)… He’s been hit in the head but he’s very very prone to migraines in his history at our footy club.
“He had a thumping migraine at half-time so we’ve taken him out of the game. We’ll assess and see how he’s going. It hasn’t been assessed as concussion yet. He’s got a migraine from a knock. I trust our doctors and medical team will make a great call on it.” Whitfield was on Monday diagnosed with concussion, ruling him out of Round 18.
Hugh Greenwood (AF $673k SC $510k MID) went off early with concerns of a major knee injury. Suns coach Stuart Dew told FoxFooty: “The initial reports aren’t good. It’s a suspected ACL at this stage. It’s not confirmed but we feel for him.”
Brisbane Lions v St Kilda
Brisbane’s Eric Hipwood (AF $440k SC $293k FWD) went down with a suspected ACL injury. Brandon Starcevich (AF $391k SC $331k DEF) had a sore neck, while Lions coach Chris Fagan said Jack Payne (AF $292k SC $253k DEF) was OK after a glancing blow.
On replacing Hipwood, Fagan said: “It’s an opportunity for a Connor Ballenden (AF $180k SC $146k FWD) or Tommy Fullarton (AF $215k SC $164k F/R) to step up. Those 2 boys have been waiting in the wings for quite some time.”
Carlton v Geelong
Patrick Cripps (AF $620k SC $430k MID) looked ginger early but played the game out. Carlton coach David Teague said: “I think he got a corkie today, not sure which leg, one of his thighs. He was pretty good before the game, he was on his toes, looked pretty solid. He gave us a contest around the ball. He’ll probably pull up pretty sore after a game like that.”
Teague also was asked about Zac Williams (AF $539k SC $457k D/M*). He said: “I think (he’s OK). I think he just got stood on. I don’t think it’s anything more than a step on the ankle or foot. He should be fine.”
Levi Casboult (AF $353k SC $258k FWD) and Liam Jones (AF $389k SC $377k DEF) were late outs with swelling in the knee and a lower back issue respectively. Teague said “hopefully they’ll both be available” next week.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said Gary Rohan (AF $489k SC $405k FWD) copped a “cork towards the end” and was subbed out.
On Joel Selwood (AF $613k SC $504k MID) and Luke Dahlhaus (AF $340k SC $241k FWD) – who were managed – Scott added: “The plan is for them to come back in.”
Hawthorn v Fremantle
Changkuoth Jiath (AF $501k SC $402k DEF) hurt his knee in the third term. Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said: “‘CJ’ has got some form of PCL injury, so he is unlikely to play for some time. “Usually our way of treating these is to put them in some sort of brace and they come up over the next little while.
“We’ll probably take a conservative approach with him and with only six weeks it will probably mean that it would be doubtful he gets back for this year.”
Jack Scrimshaw (AF $605k SC $489k DEF) was subbed out with a neck injury, having earlier had a migraine. Blake Hardwick (AF $558k SC $434k DEF) was a late withdrawal with hamstring tightness.
Freo had no injuries.
Essendon v Adelaide
Kyle Langford (AF $702k SC $475k M/F) was subbed out of Friday’s game with hamstring tightness. Essendon coach Ben Rutten said: “I’m not sure what leg it is but that’s (hamstring tightness) what we’re considering at the moment. We’ll wait & see how it pulls up. Hopefully it’s not too bad. We didn’t want to take any risk with it.”
Rutten also spoke about Dyson Heppell (AF $693k SC $512k D/M*) who missed the game. He said: “Looking likely that (he’ll return in R18). He had a little operation on his thumb but we’ll see how that continues to go with the wound. We don’t think he’ll be out for a long time.”
Adelaide subbed out Tom Doedee (AF $424k SC $399k DEF) after a courageous act, with coach Matthew Nicks saying it was a “suspected concussion with blurred vision” but that he also had “soreness through the chest”.
Nicks also spoke about Taylor Walker (AF $527k SC $401k FWD) who missed the game: “We’d hope to (get him back). He was progressing really well at the start of this week. As the neck improved, he found some other sore spots. He was too sore for us to bring down.”
Paul Seedsman (AF $706k SC $518k MID) got a knock to his calf and will be monitored, while Jordon Butts (AF $283k SC $257k DEF) had a laceration to his head require stitches plus a cork but played out the game.
Port Adelaide v Melbourne
Zak Butters (AF $616k SC $501k M/F) was subbed out at three-quarter time, with Port coach Ken Hinkley stating “he gave his knee a bit of a sprain. It may be his medial ligament”.
Port confirmed on Friday in an update: “Will spend about a month on the sidelines after scans confirmed he had sprained the medial ligament in his right knee.”
Honeyball SC BBL memberships are on sale! Only $35 season offer or $20 per month. Get access to all HB content, plus our exclusive injury list, comprehensive global T20 leagues form guide, HB Twitter & Whatsapp chats, entry into our members-only SC group (with a SC Champion ring for the winner) and more.
