Carlton have given us our first debutants of the season, Horse speaks highly of Errol Gulden, while a tag could be looming this weekend for Rory Laird.
Carlton rookies Lachie Cowan (AF $242k SC $117k DEF) and Oliver Hollands (AF $280k SC $162k MID) will debut against Richmond in round one, coach Michael Voss announced during a team meeting.
Cowan, pick 30 in the 2022 AFL draft, tallied 10 disposals, a mark and four tackles off half back in Carlton’s practice match against Sydney. Hollands, pick 11 in the 2022 AFL draft, tallied 17 disposals, six marks and a tackle playing on a wing.
GWS coach Adam Kingsley spoke to the media today about Finn Callaghan (AF $406k SC $244k MID), pick 1 in 2022 AFL draft Aaron Cadman (AF $300k SC $207k FWD) and his progress towards senior selection, and a potential tag on Adelaide’s Rory Laird (AF $1.066m SC $703k MID).
On Callaghan’s role in the GWS midfield: “I’d expect he’d play both (wing & inside mid). He’s predominantly playing wing. Finn, I was really pleased with his game on the wing last week. That’s something where we need to build, but we know he’s quality,” he said.
On Cadman: “Cads will be close. We’ve discussed at length around where do we play him, how many talls can we play? I would expect to see him pretty soon but it’s hard to know,” Kingsley said.
On potentially tagging Laird: “We have to be smart with him (Laird). We’ll certainly put some work into Rory, whether that’s a tag or whether that’s just accountability we’ll discuss with our coaching group,” Kingsley said.
Kingsley spoke highly of Adelaide across the board, and gave a special mention to Jordan Dawson (AF $893k SC 603k DEF) in the backline as someone that GWS will need to “take care of”. Whether that will be through a tag remains to be seen.
North Melbourne’s Aaron Hall (AF $797k SC $538k DEF) and Tarryn Thomas (AF $475k SC $295k M/F) played in their VFL team’s 30-point against the Footscray Bulldogs. Thomas had a strong performance in the midfield as well as hitting the scoreboard.
For Hall, this was his second game back recovering from an Achilles injury. His inclusion back into the senior side may have an effect on Jack Ziebell (AF $537k SC $356k FWD), who has returned to the backline where he flourished in 2021 as a Fantasy/SuperCoach selection.
St Kilda released an update to their long injury list earlier today, with Nick Coffield (AF $379k SC $208k DEF) among the latest inclusions. Coffield strained his calf at training last week, and the injury will likely see him out for 4-6 weeks.
Marcus Windhager (AF $448k SC $266k M/F) will need to prove his fitness at training to be avaible for round one.
Tim Membrey has been ruled out for round one, which might open the door for SSP recruit Anthony Caminiti (AF $200k SC $102k FWD), a key forward who had 11 disposals, four marks and three tackles in St Kilda’s practice match against Essendon.
The hype has been around Sydney’s Errol Gulden (AF $735k SC $472k FWD) since practice matches began, and coach John Longmire didn’t do anything to slow it down, with positive words on Gulden during his press conference today.
“That type of two-way midfielder is what we enjoy coaching. He’s one of a few that will come through. They’ll have their ups and downs as all young players do but we’re confident in the direction they’re heading,” Longmire said.
West Coast’s Oscar Allen (AF $358k SC $210k FWD) will make his return to the field after missing all of 2022. Allen spoke to the media today on potential ruck time, where he said it will just be forward 50 time for now.
“No at this stage, it’s not in the calculations (on rucking). If the tap on the shoulder comes I’ll definitely do it, but it’s something we’ve been working towards the past couple of years to get me more in a permanent forward position,” he said.
