The Thursday team news dropped with no major surprises and some key holds led by Rory Atkins, Seamus Mitchell, Oisin Mullin and Ollie Lord while Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty were both cleared to play this weekend.
TEAM NEWS
Key ins: Cincotta, Harrison, Treloar
Key outs: Hollands (inj), Evans, Sicily (susp), Mackenzie (mng), Ratugolea (inj)
Key holds: McVee, Chandler, JVR, D.Williams, Lord, Weddle, S.Mitchell, Ginbey, Long, A.Jones, O.Baker, O’Donnell, Mullin, Knevitt, Atkins, Fiorini, Pedlar, Briggs, Angwin, S.Ryan, Wardlaw, Ford
Extended bench (26): Rowston, Flynn, Fahey, Banks, A.Davey, Montgomerie, Shiel, Thomas, Hall, W.Phillips
Potential subs/emergencies: Woewodin, P.Dow, Evans, Sinn, Mackenzie, Chesser, E.Hewett, E.Allan, Simpson, Ellis
Absent: Cowan, Boak, Dixon, Constable
Carlton recalled Alex Cincotta as hoped following their long list of outs, while Rory Atkins held his spot for Gold Coast contrary to some inaccurate reports.
There remains no sign of a Charlie Constable recall for the Suns, not even in their 26. Josh Fahey was named on GWS’s extended bench after his brief debut as a sub.
UPDATES
Carlton coach Michael Voss declared Patrick Cripps (AF $773k SC $497k MID) and Sam Docherty (AF $936k SC $557k DEF) are ready to play, with the former under an injury cloud following an ankle issue, while the latter didn’t train with the main group on Thursday.
On Cripps, Voss said: “He’s good. He got through training yesterday, so he’s right to go.”
On Docherty, Voss said: “He’s fine. As you can imagine we get to this stage of the year and there’s some guys who need to be managed at different stages, but he’s fine, he’s ready to go.”
Voss declined to confirm the probable inclusion of Paddy Dow following a handful of injuries, while he indicated Tom De Koning would lead the ruck with Marc Pittonet out.
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley talked up the prospects of Quinton Narkle coming into the side and playing AFL footy soon. Port grabbed the ex-Geelong mid with pick 11 in Wednesday’s Mid-Season Draft, having been playing with Essendon in the VFL.
Hinkley said: “He adds depth to that group of players at forward/mid. He’s a desperately unlucky player. He’s in really good physical shape. He’s been playing really strong football at Essendon in the VFL. He’s crying out for an opportunity. I think he’s an AFL player who’s not in the AFL system at the moment.”
On Narkle playing this season, Hinkley said: “I hope so, that’s what we picked him for… hopefully he plays well on Sunday at the Magpies and he’s pushing up for selection at AFL level. I think he’s pretty desperate.”
Hinkley said he expected Todd Marshall and Charlie Dixon to overcome issues and play this round, which may impact Ollie Lord’s (AF $299k SC $221k D/F) selection. Hinkley said: “Ollie knows he’s had great growth and learned a lot. There will be plenty more opportunities this year to play AFL football. But if there’s any doubt for Charlie or Todd, Ollie will stay in the side.”
The Port coach confirmed Tom Jonas will play SANFL following suspension, which shows Dylan Williams’ (AF $498k SC $334k D/F) job security, while he suggested Travis Boak would miss again with a ribs issue.
On Boak, Hinkley said: “There’s nothing sinister. He’s just copped another significant knock in the same area as he copped in the pre-season. We knew in the pre-season it took him quite a period of time to get over it. It’s not quite as bad. He’s pushing to play this week, but t be honest, I don’t expect him to get through.”
North Melbourne interim coach Brett Ratten said Taryn Thomas (AF $475k SC $295k M/F) would come into consideration for an AFL return after his interrupted star to the year. He said: “He’ll be very close… he’s had a body of work for about 3-4 weeks playing VFL. It’s pretty hard conditions last week in the VFL game, it was quite wet and hard to hold your feet. His second half was pretty good. That’s the challenge for the match committee group to work to where does he fit in, is he right to go, is he right to perform at AFL level? That’ll be the conversation.”
Ratten said Robert Hansen Jnr, who they took with pick two at the Mid-Season Draft, could play AFL this year, although he’ll need to mount his case in the VFL first. He said: “He won’t play (VFL) this week. It’ll depend on how well he goes straight away at VFL level. He’s a player that could really help us, but there’s no pressure on.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott said Dylan Shiel would fully train on Thursday and “all signs are positive at the moment” for a return from injury, which may impact Ben Hobbs’ (AF $605k SC $371k M/F) role. He also said Jake Kelly was “medically available” to return from concussion.
