Max Gawn has been ruled out for 3-5 weeks due to syndesmosis and teammate Daniel Turner will also be sidelined for several games, while Carlton revealed Sam Durdin will make his club debut.
THURSDAY TEAMS
Ins: Lynch, S.Durdin
Outs: D.Martin (ill), Soldo, Cerra (inj), Marchbank (inj)
Key holds: Clarke, Boyd, C.Durdin
Emergencies/possible sub: M.Rioli
Carlton coach Michael Voss revealed that Sam Durdin (AF $195k SC $123k DEF) will make his club debut in the Thursday game against Richmond.
Durdin, who previously played 22 games for North Melbourne, went pick 13 in the 2022 Mid-Season Draft and is a 198cm key defender, who will likely to get good opportunity with Jacob Weitering, Caleb Marchbank and Mitch McGovern out injured.
Voss said: “Sam Durdin is going to come in and play his first game. What a story that is. Second chance. The fact he’s been able to come in and he’ll have an impact pretty soon, it’s a credit to him. I just want him to go out there and back himself in.”
Dustin Martin (AF $634k SC $492k M/F) will not be named for the Tigers. Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said: “It’s not looking very likely at this stage. He’s not very well. He’s probably highly unlikely. We’ll make a call later this afternoon. He hasn’t trained all week. It’s just the flu.”
UPDATES
Max Gawn (AF $845k SC $587k RUCK) will miss 3-5 weeks due to syndesmosis suffered in Melbourne’s Queens Birthday loss to Collingwood.
Melbourne GM of AFL Performance Alan Richardson said: “Max had a left ankle concern during the game and, while he managed to battle through, was quite sore afterwards.
“He had some scans on Tuesday, which unfortunately showed some ligament damage. Max will be in a moonboot until early next week and will then begin his structured rehabilitation program.
“It’s obviously disappointing that we will be without our leader for the next three to five weeks, but we’re hopeful it’ll be a relatively quick recovery for Max, and he won’t miss too much footy.”
The Dees have also lost Daniel Turner (AF $193k SC $123k DEF) for several weeks after he suffered a concussion and face fractures in his debut against Collingwood.
Richardson said: “Daniel will undergo surgery this week and we expect him to miss approximately four weeks.”
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge confirmed that Luke Cleary (AF $261k SC $117k DEF) will not be available this weekend due to health and safety protocols.
Hugh Dixon (AF $370k SC $246k F/R) will not play in the AFL this weekend, with the Eagles stating he “will miss another week with a minor calf strain.”
