Tuesday’s injury report offered updates on Lachie Weller, Bailey Humphrey, Josh Kelly, Lachie Whitfield, Elliot Yeo, Campbell Chesser, Christian Salem, Jack Bytel, Keidean Coleman and George Wardlaw.
UPDATES
In Gold Coast’s official injury report, Lachie Weller (AF $677k SC $448k DEF) is available for selection for this week’s game against Essendon on Sunday. Gold Coast Head Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said: “Lachie has put in a tremendous amount of hard work and had his sights firmly set on a return to play early in the season.” Bailey Humphrey (AF $290k SC $185k M/F) is also set to be available for selection after being sidelined with a foot injury for the last couple of weeks. Bull said: “Bailey’s foot has healed and he has been back into training with the main group so he will be available for selection this weekend.” Wil Powell (AF $530k SC $425k DEF) is a test and could be available for selection, but more likely to play VFL this week. The selection of Lachie Weller and potentially Wil Powell could impact both Charlie Constable (AF $368k SC $124k D/M) and Bodhi Uwland’s (AF $233k SC $124k D/M) selection this week and moving forward.
West Coast Eagles Footy GM Gavin Bell spoke on SEN Mornings about Campbell Chesser (AF $207k SC $124k D/M) and his selection this week. Bell said: “We haven’t made any decisions about this week’s team. It was a tough day for him. We have full confidence in all of our kids but we acknowledge he hasn’t played a lot of footy lately.”
Bell then gave an update on Elliot Yeo (AF $625k SC $337k DEF), who missed round one due to a calf injury. Bell said: “Elliot Yeo will also hopefully be getting closer to being available for selection… (We’re) Hopeful. He’s such an important player. He’s had his challenges over the last couple of years. It’s trying to balance, yes we’d love him straight back into the team but we’d love him for the year.”
Speaking on the To The Final Bell podcast with Cameron Ling on Monday, Geelong assistant coach Shaun Grigg said that Jack Bowes (AF $607k SC $278k DEF) is ‘primed and ready’ to make his Geelong debut if selected for Thursday night’s blockbuster clash against Carlton. He said: “Jack was really close to playing Round 1, we just gave him a run for a half in the VFL, so he looks primed and ready to put his hand up for selection. We obviously know there’s going to be one change with Tommy Stewart not going to get up for this game, so we’ll have our training session (on Tuesday) and our match committee will pick the team.”
In the GWS Giants official injury report, GWS Head of Medical James Rahme gave an update on Josh Kelly (AF $890k SC $582k MID) and Lachie Whitfield (AF $771k SC $474k MID), who will both miss the game against West Coast on Sunday afternoon. He said: “We’ll go through the protocols, step by step, and the earliest Lachie and Josh will be available to play will be in round three. The good news is they have both pulled up well following the game, but we’ll take all the necessary precautions.”
In what could be a huge boost for Melbourne, all four of Christian Salem, Jack Viney, Bayley Fritsch and Steven May could be available for their round 2 clash against Brisbane on Friday night. Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said they will likely have a selection headache with all four available after a very impressive win against Western Bulldogs last week. “May, Viney, Fritsch and Salem will all be available… we’re confident on all those guys which is going to give us a strong selection headache.” In regards to Salem, Goodwin said: “We’re going to have that discussion later today. He’s certainly put in a lot of work over the last 3-4 weeks. We want to set him up for success. He’ll train fully this week and be available for selection. He’s had an enormous pre-season up until his thyroid.” With the potential ins for Melbourne, it could impact the selection of Kade Chandler (AF $260k SC $124k FWD), Judd McVee (AF $219k SC $124k D/M) and Bailey Laurie (AF $200k SC $124k M/F).
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has said that they will be without both Jack Bytel (AF $340k SC $159k MID) and Jimmy Webster (AF $506k SC $334k DEF) for their Saturday night clash against the Western Bulldogs, with Bytel missing due to a cut on his knee and was sent to hospital after their game on Sunday, and Webster because of a broken metacarpal in his right hand. Jack Bytel is the bigger issue, boasting an ownership of 3.2% in AFL Fantasy and 3.3% in SuperCoach and was also a trade target for a few coaches this week. Marcus Windhager (AF $448k SC $266k M/F) could return to the lineup, which could mean one of the Bulldogs midfielders in Marcus Bontempelli (AF $888k SC $640k MID), Bailey Smith (AF $926k SC $543k MID) or Tom Liberatore (AF $817k SC $577k MID) could cop some attention.
In Brisbane Lions official injury report, former captain Dayne Zorko (AF $731k SC $453k FWD) is available and expected to make his return to the lineup against Melbourne on Friday night at the Gabba. However, Keidean Coleman (AF $672k SC $479k DEF) will miss due to concussion. Callum Ah Chee and Darcy Gardiner could be available, not confirmed yet, but that could potentially impact the selection of both Darcy Wilmot (AF $219k SC $124k DEF) and Conor McKenna (AF $391k SC $168k DEF), so one to keep an eye on.
A popular cash cow in the preseason, George Wardlaw (AF $294k SC $194k MID) will make his return from injury in North Melbourne’s VFL game this weekend. Speaking to NMFC Media, head of performance Kevin White spoke about Wardlaw and his return this week. “George had his final piece of testing today, so he’s ticked that final hurdle which is great news.”
