Josh Kelly still ‘touch and go’, Whitfield, Cripps, Neale & Darcy likely to play
Doubts remain about Josh Kelly’s availability this round despite being named as he’s been labelled “touch and go”, while Patrick Cripps, Lachie Neale, Lachie Whitfield and Sean Darcy all appear likely to play.
TEAM NEWS
Relevant ins: Tohill (deb), Ginnivan (deb), F.Macrae, Cripps, Cunnington, Harmes, Markov, Hutchings, Clavarino, Whitfield, Mumford
Extended bench: Shiel, Peatling (deb), Coleman-Jones, Ralphsmith, Collier-Dawkins, O’Driscoll (deb), Meek
Relevant outs: McEntee, Dunkley, Prior, L.Edwards (inj), Highmore (inj), Marshall, Rowe (mng), Jeka, Newcombe, Flynn (inj), D.Martin (inj), Amartey
Relevant holds: Ruscoe, Bianco, Neale, Fullarton, West, Connolly, Reeves, Bramble, Durham (26), Bruhn, J.Kelly, Holmes (26), M.Parker, Mansell, Darcy
Possible subs: Frederick, Cockatoo, Jeffrey, Foley, Sharman, Allison, R.O’Connor, Jeka
Josh Kelly (AF $793k M/F SC $556k MID) has been named despite his ankle worry. It feels like he may be a late out.
GWS coach Leon Cameron said: “He ran today. He’ll still be touch & go. We’ll be smart about that… It was good progress today but he’s still got to do a main session either tomorrow or Saturday.”
Lachie Whitfield (AF $721k D/M SC $492k DEF) should play after his concussion. Cameron said: “Lachie has trained really really well. He’s passed every test in that 12-day protocol so he’s trained really well today, full contact. We’ll tick off on Saturday & expect him to play.”
Sean Darcy (AF $744k SC $710k F/R*) has been named and is likely to play despite a knee worry. Freo coach Justin Longmuir said: “Sean Darcy will have to get through training but we’re pretty positive, it’s not as bad as first thought.”
West Coast’s Luke Edwards (AF $326k SC $196k MID) is a shock casualty with a hamstring strain.
DEBUTANT ALERTS
Brodie Kemp (AF $170k SC $123k MID) wasn’t named in Carlton’s 22 but looms as a debutant as medical sub.
He was pick 17 in the 2019 AFL Draft and is 192cm 20-year-old midfielder who missed his debut season due to an ACL injury.
James Peatling (AF $170k SC $102k D/M) is in GWS’s 26 and he went pick 8 in 2021 midseason draft.
GWS website said: “Makes his first appearance in the 26-man squad after adapting quickly to life as an AFL footballer since being the club’s first mid-season rookie pick this year.”
Nathan O’Driscoll (AF $218k SC $117k MID) is also in Freo’s 26-man squad. He was pick 27 in the 2020 AFL Draft.
Freo’s website said: “Combines athletic attributes with an almost unparalleled in-game work-rate, impressive ability overhead & has intent to tackle and pressure.”
UPDATES
Essendon coach Ben Rutten was asked about Kyle Langford (AF $678k SC $468k M/F) who is out with a hamstring injury.
Rutten said: “Training this week will be really important for Kyle. He’s played a lot of the season. That’ll play out a little bit throughout the course of this week.”
TOMORROW
We’ll get the final 22s for Sunday’s games, but also hear from Adam Simpson, Matthew Nicks, Alastair Clarkson and Damien Hardwick.
