Milera omitted, Preuss uncertain to return for GWS, Dusty in doubt, Fyfe out for Freo, Saints confirm debutant
Dustin Martin is in doubt for Round 2 against GWS who have Braydon Preuss available after suspension but no lock to play according to Giants coach Leon Cameron, while St Kilda confirmed a debutant.
DEBUTANT ALERT
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (AF $270k SC $162k D/M) will make his proper debut for St Kilda this weekend after being an unused medical sub last round.
Saints coach Brett Ratten said: “Nasiah will play this week. His kicking and his movement has been a real feature, and it’s such a strong part of his game and the reason why he got drafted in the first place.”
Josh Sinn (AF $268k SC $157k D/M) will debut for Port. The club said: “Sinn will be making his AFL debut having arrived at Alberton with the 12th pick in last year’s National Draft. The Sandringham Dragons product has impressed with his work ethic, speed and penetrating left foot.”
TEAM NEWS
Key ins: Lloyd, Duncan, Kreuger, Pedlar, Skinner, Sinn, Darcy, T.Kelly
Extended squads ins (26): Curtis, Giro, Mountford, J.Williams, Preuss, M.Rioli, O’Driscoll
Key outs: McInerney (inj), Sheldrick, De Koning (inj), Milera, Soligo, Baldwin, Mead, Owens
Wayne Milera (AF $382k SC $271k DEF) dropped out of the Adelaide side and may need a few weeks out judging by coach Matthew Nicks’ comments. He said: “Wayne, there is a bigger picture view & he has missed a hell of a lot of footy over the past two years or so… We suspect some time at SANFL level will help him get back to the elite level quickly.”
Justin McInerney (AF $565k SC $411k D/M) also missed out for Sydney. Swans coach John Longmire said: “McInerney’s knee just wasn’t quite right, hopefully he’s okay for next week.”
UPDATES
Braydon Preuss (AF $367k SC $204k RUCK) is no certainty to automatically come into GWS side after suspension according to Cameron, despite being named in the 26. He said: “It’s a bit of a catch 22. Clearly we know their two rucks are big boys, Nankervis and Soldo are huge for them, they give them first use, so we’re really debating that hard.
“Preuss had a good game, he’s now had 2-3 games coming back from an interrupted pre-season, We were rapt with Flynny, so it’s a heavy discussion to play the both of them. We’ve just got to make sure we’re well balanced in other areas of the ground, so it is a consideration, it’s not over the line. But we know we played those two together in the Collingwood game, the last practice match, and we were pretty happy.”
Dustin Martin (AF $676k SC $503k M/F) is in doubt for Richmond’s Round 2 game with GWS for personal reasons despite being named in the side. Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said: “He’s dealing with a couple of personal issues and whether he is available to play this week, we’re unsure at the moment. We won’t close the door, but we just want to make sure that Dustin’s OK.”
Nat Fyfe (AF $709k SC $546k MID) will not play this round for Fremantle and seems unlikely to return any time soon, which may positively impact Will Brodie’s (AF $409k SC $224k M/F) role.
Freo coach Justin Longmuir: “He has an issue with his lower back that hasn’t improved the way we want. He won’t play this week. We need to do a bit more digging around and find out the cause, we’ll send him off for a scan. At this stage it’s a minor setback. We just need to make sure we get him right. As I’ve said all along we want to make sure when we get him back he stays back.”
Fyfe appeared on The Project later on and said: “I have been coming back from a shoulder reconstruction and in that big push to get my body back up to speed to put the bodyweight back on and be strong, it hasn’t recovered over the last week as we would have liked.
“It is looking likely at this stage, early next week I will have a small procedure to try and alleviate the pressure on the nerve. That could be three to six weeks (recovering), unless something happens over the weekend drastically but that is what I am looking at.”
Longmuir was also asked about top 10 draft pick Neil Erasmus (AF $272k SC $166k MID). He said: “He’s close. He’s still got a lot of work to do on his game. We’re really happy with his progression and his output. He’s a young player that’s only really played one game against men. I can’t really comment on selection just yet.”
Essendon coach Ben Rutten confirmed Jake Stringer (AF $675k SC $506k M/F) will return which helps with Kyle Langford, Will Snelling and Nic Martin (protocols) unavailable. Rutten said: “Stringer will play. Stringer will come back in this week. That extra week he’s had training has set him up really well.”
