It’s Good Friday, and we have an early game of footy, some coach pressers and Sunday teams, with player updates on Will Setterfield, Patrick Voss, Dom Sheed, Elliot Yeo, Campbell Chesser and Dylan Williams.
TEAM NEWS
Key ins: Elliot Yeo, Jai Culley Kysaiah Pickett
Key holds: Jye Menzie, Elijah Hewett, Kade Chandler
Key outs: D.Sheed (inj), Campbell Chesser (inj), Massimo D’Ambrosio (omt), Cooper Hamilton (omt)
Possible subs/emergencies: Josh Fahey, Aaron Cadman, Massimo D’Ambrosio
No big issues for coaches from Sunday teams. Elliot Yeo (AF $625k SC $337k DEF) is in for West Coast, while Kysaiah Pickett (AF $543k SC $365k FWD) is back, and Kade Chandler (AF $393k $207k FWD) held his spot for Melbourne.
UPDATES
Essendon coach Brad Scott said despite being limited in training, Will Setterfield (AF $765k SC $406k MID) is in no doubt to play against Gold Coast on Saturday night. Scott told reporters: “No doubt at all. Like every club, you manage players. He actually got a knock in round 2 that we have just been managing, so that’s just part of his individual program.”
When asked about how important Setterfield has been as a new recruit, Scott said: “Super impressed. He brings a real point of difference to our midfield, and I’ve said on a number of occasions, he’s just a quality person and I’ve been really impressed with his game knowledge and his calmness under pressure and the ability to make good decisions.”
We could have a debutant at some point in the near future for Essendon, with Brad Scott saying young forward Patrick Voss (AF $200k SC $124k FWD) has been performing really well, but just has a couple of things to work on before he gets an opportunity. Scott said: “He’s going really well, 14 goals in 3 weeks. He’s a great competitor but again, we have been really consistent with we really want to set players up to succeed and play really. When we feel he’s ready to come in cause we see a spot for him in the team that he can come in and make his own and hold his own. He’s got some things in his game we want him to work on, and we are working really hard with him on that. If he keeps progressing the way he’s going, it won’t be too long.”
West Coast Eagles coach Adam Simpson gave an update on Dom Sheed (AF $613k SC $365k MID) after he suffered a throat injury at training, where he later went to hospital to treat a fractured layrnx. Simpson said: “It was a warm up drill. I don’t think it’s a significant injury but the docs ruled him out yesterday. It’s a knock to the throat and got scans for precautionary. He finished training but we needed to make sure it was okay.”
Simpson also said they were happy to be getting Elliot Yeo (AF $625k SC $337k DEF) back into the side, but they will take it easy with him given his injury history. He said: “We need to be careful about what we expect from Yeoy, to get back in the rhythm and manage him a little.”
Simpson also have an update on Campbell Chesser (AF $237k SC $132k D/M), but still no exact timeframe on his return. He said: ““Chess is out for a while. He hurt his knee in the second quarter. There is a lot going on but we need to focus on this week.”
Dylan Williams (AF $200k SC $124k FWD) will play his first game for Port Adelaide since 2021, and coach Ken Hinkley is pleased to see him back in the senior side. Hinkley said: “Dylan Williams has been a fantastic story. He’s worked really hard and played really strong football as a defender. He has an incredible football brain and we think he’ll make us better.”
