Uncertainty continues to linger for Darcy Parish and Dayne Zorko, while Jack Steele is set to return although he’s still not been fully cleared and there’s further issues for Mitch Owens and Joel Jeffrey.
UPDATES
Essendon are yet to declare Darcy Parish (AF $869k SC $607k MID) a certain starter for Friday’s game against West Coast, as doubts linger about his corked calf.
Head of HP Sean Murphy: “He’ll be a test for this weekend. All things considered, he’s just got to keep progressing. It was a very decent calf cork that he copped and there’s a fair bit of blood in and around that area.
“We’ll just get him going this week and by main training on Wednesday, he’ll get out there and do a bit and we’ll assess what his availability will be like for this weekend.”
Jack Steele (AF $892k SC $590k MID) is poised to return for St Kilda after undergoing surgery on an AC injury five weeks ago, although he remains a test. The Saints said: In line to make his senior return, with the captain a test for Saturday’s fixture with Sydney.”
Mitch Owens (AF $281k SC $139k MID), however, is set to miss with the club revealing he still remains under concussion protocols.
Joel Jeffrey (AF $368k SC $284k FWD) looks set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines with a knee issue, with the Suns confirming that scans showed an injury to his lateral meniscus in his knee.
Suns Head Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said: “Joel injured his knee in the last quarter on the weekend that will require surgery this week to ascertain the extent of damage and address accordingly. We’ll know more about Joel’s recovery timeline once his surgery is complete and can provide a further update at that time.”
Uncertainty remains on Dayne Zorko (AF $715k SC $430k D/M) after a minor hamstring strain but teammate Harris Andrews said: “I hope so (he plays), yeah. He moved all right today. Obviously there’s going to be some discussion between now and when the team is named.”
If you hoped Hugh Dixon (AF $370k SC $246k F/R) might offer some ruck cover, think again. Eagles Head of Health Mark Finucane said: “Unfortunately, Hugh Dixon was doing some leads, landed awkwardly on his ankle and it looks like he’s stirred up, jarred some old niggles in the ankle. That has recovered quickly so it’s a minor setback in the scheme and he’s only a week or two from playing.”
