Hopper doubtful, Horse on Errol’s mid time, Fyfe & Treloar still a chance, Guthrie on key-back Ratugolea
Monday’s news gives us a number of injury updates including Jacob Hopper, Nat Fyfe and Adam Treloar, John Longmire speaks on Errol Gulden’s increased mid time, while Esava Ratugolea received positive words from Zach Guthrie as he settles into Geelong’s defence.
Richmond’s Physical Performance Manager Luke Meehan provided some injury updates ahead of their clash against Collingwood on Friday night, including Jacob Hopper (AF $722k SC $332k MID) and Jayden Short (AF $820k SC $543k MID). On Hopper, Meehan said: “It was pretty ugly, he’s actually pretty lucky. Jacob’s experienced a little bit of joint soreness in his knee, we’re going to monitor him on Wednesday, see how he recovers and make a decision. He’s probably doubtful at this stage, but we’ll see how he is on Wednesday.”
On Short, Meehan said: “Jayden’s been battling a bit of a calf problem on and off for the past couple of weeks. We’re going to make a decision now to not play him this week and get him to do some strong rehab training on it, and get himself right for the rest of the season.” Will prevent him from getting dual-position status in round six.
On Dustin Martin (AF $664k SC $480k M/F) (hamstring awareness), Meehan said: “We made the decision during the game to take Dustin off the ground, given his injury history and the six-day break. We’re just going to monitor how he recovers off the game and make a decision on Wednesday and see if he gets through training with regards to playing this week.”
On Ivan Soldo (foot), Meehan said: “Unfortunately, he’s developed a bit of plantar fasciitis, given how big and heavy he is. We’re going to make sure we get this right, and he’s unavailable for the short-term at this stage, possibly medium-term.” May improve the job security of Samson Ryan (AF $225k SC $123k R/F).
Port Adelaide offered a positive update on Connor Rozee (AF $780k SC $513k M/F) in their injury report having undergone a concussion test during Saturday’s game. The Port update said: “The midfielder underwent a further concussion test following the game, which he also passed with no concerns.”
Sydney coach John Longmire joined SEN Breakfast, where he spoke about the increased mid time of Errol Gulden (AF $767k $472k M/F) and the Swans midfielders in general earning their minutes inside. He said: “It depends on how they’re going. We know he (Gulden) can play midfield, we’ve known that from the very start. But with the balance of our team, what the rest of the midfield looked like, he was suited to the half-forward/wing role. He’s such a real threat around goal, sets the goals up and you’ve got to have a smart player on him.
Longmire added: “That’s been part of the evolution of our team. We put him in the midfield a couple of weeks ago and he was terrific. He’s just a very good two-way player. He gets up and down the ground, he uses the ball really well, and he’s smart. For a three-year player, he’s one of the ones I turn to if he’s on the bench. He knows his footy which is great to have in a young player.”
Fremantle GM of Football Peter Bell provided an update on Nat Fyfe’s (AF $657k SC $313k M/F) progress towards a return from a foot injury. He said: “Nat’s dealing with some plantar fascia issues in his foot and has been on and off for awhile now. We’ve treated that in the latter stages of last week, and we’ll see how he progresses through training this week as to his availability to play in the derby.”
Western Bulldogs Head of Sport Medicine Chris Bell provided an injury update on Adam Treloar (AF $871k SC $530k MID) and his chances to return against Brisbane. He said: “Adam had some minor hamstring tightness of the back of the round one game, and has progressed well over the last 72 hours and completed a solid training session on Saturday. For him to be a chance to play, he will need to prove his full fitness and ability to hit top speed tomorrow. Adam has a significant history of soft tissue injury, so we won’t be taking any risk if he hasn’t fully recovered.”
Defender Liam Jones (AF $300k SC $228k DEF) is not listed on the Bulldogs’ injury report after suffering a head knock against St Kilda. He passed his concussion test and played out the rest of the game.
Melbourne club doctor Laura Lallenec provided injury news on defender Christian Salem (AF $653k SC $390k DEF), who went for surgery,and a further update on captain Max Gawn (AF $849k SC $622k RUC), who was confirmed to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks with an MCL injury.
On Salem (meniscus), she said: “Unfortunately, it was what we call unstable and needed to be trimmed back by the surgeon this morning. Surgery went really well, and he will have a week at home resting, and then start to get back into training.” May positively affect the job security of Judd McVee (AF $234k SC $123k D/M).
On Gawn, she said: “With that type of mechanism, it does always worry us whether it’s an ACL or MCL injury. He has had a previous MCL injury, so it made it a bit difficult assessing him, so we weren’t sure which way it could be. By the end of the night (Thursday), he didn’t have any swelling, he was pretty comfortable, so our confidence was that it was more likely to be an MCL injury, and then thankfully by the next day, the MRI confirmed that.”
Carlton’s George Hewett (AF $869k SC $613k MID) (hand) is listed as a test on the club’s latest injury report ahead of their match against GWS on Saturday.
North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin (AF $826k SC $500k MID) will accept a one-match suspension for striking. After having 68% CBAs against Fremantle (Simpkin), it could mean more opportunity inside for Tom Powell (AF $516k SC $309k M/F) or for Will Phillips (AF $281k SC $158k MID) to be an inclusion to the 22.
Geelong defender Zach Guthrie spoke to reporters today, with positive things to say about the club’s new recruits, and playing with Esava Ratugolea (AF $297k SC $174k R/F) in the backline.
On their new recruits, including Jack Bowes (AF $611k $277k DEF), Ollie Henry (AF $471k SC $270k FWD) and Tanner Bruhn (AF $476k SC $311k M/F), Guthrie said: “I think some of the guys that have come in have been really good for us. I think that’s been a bright start to the season for some of those guys. They’ve performed really well, and I think as a team and for some of those guys as well (individually), they’re just going to continue to get better as the year goes on.”
On playing with Ratugolea in defence, Guthrie said: “I think he’s been great. He’s obviously a really good athlete, the way he leaps at the ball is really exciting. His willingness to learn that new role has been great, he’s got some really experienced heads down there and some great coaches he can lean on. I think he’s been doing a really good job at fast-tracking himself to become a really important player for us, and some of the glimpses he’s been showing through the start of the season have been really impressive.”
St Kilda stand-in skipper Callum Wilkie spoke to the media today, impressed with the form of Mattaes Phillipou (AF $315k SC $166k M/F) since his arrival to the club, and the resilience of Jack Steele (AF $969k SC $604k MID) who played through a broken collarbone, which will sideline him around four weeks.
On Phillipou, Wilkie said: “Since he has got to the club, his professionalism and the standards he’s brought has really set the standard for the other draftees. He wasn’t going to wait for anybody to make it into the side. Since he’s come into the side, he’s a real pro and a big game player. I can see that happening for many years to some in Saints colours.”
On Steele, he said: “Steeley’s character to play on after breaking his collarbone, his pain tolerance to get back on the field and give his all for the team is nothing short of remarkable. I don’t know if I could have done that. He (Steele) does it year on year, he is incredible. It shows to the young players that you have to fight right to the end. He said after the game he wasn’t feeling too bad, then he showed me the x-ray and it (collarbone) was shattered. I don’t know if he feels any pain, but he inspires everyone with the way he puts his body on the line.”