Clarry concern, Darcy closing in on early return, Mitch on Seamus & North concussion updates
Tuesday always brings plenty of club injury updates with news on the progress of Sean Darcy but there’s also a fresh worry for Clayton Oliver’s availability on King’s Birthday.
UPDATES
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin may have declared Clayton Oliver (AF $990k SC $658k MID) will play on King’s Birthday after missing two games with a hamstring injury but he’s hit a slight roadblock which may impact his availability with an infected blister.
“Clayton had a really successful reconditioning session on Saturday morning with the group,” Demons High Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith said. “Unfortunately, he has an infected blister, which prevented him from training today. We’ll assess that day-to-day as we prep for our main training session on Friday.”
Fremantle revealed Sean Darcy (AF $789k SC $567k RUC) could be back as soon as Round 14 as he’s “progressing well” after a hamstring injury sustained in Round 11.
Freo High Performance Manager Phil Merriman said: “Sean’s progressing really well. He’s reached some good running speeds in his reconditioning program. We’d expect to see him in around one to two weeks.”
North have ruled out Luke Davies-Uniacke for another week with a hamstring injury, while Jy Simpkin and Hugh Greenwood are feeling good despite entering concussion protocols in a good sign.
“He’s (Jy) touched base this morning with medical and is feeling really good,” North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said. “Likewise with Hugh Greenwood, he suffered concussion right on half-time and straight away was ruled out of the game by the doc. Again, he’s presented really well this morning from a headspace point of view.”
Carlton have confirmed George Hewett will miss another week with concussion as he works through protocols.
GWS revealed Brent Daniels will miss “a couple of matches” due to a minor hamstring strain, while Josh Kelly is listed as 1-2 weeks with his hamstring issue.
Seamus Mitchell (AF $511k SC $299k D/F) wasn’t listed on Hawthorn’s injury list on Tuesday having missed the weekend’s game due to illness.
Hawks coach Sam Mitchell hailed the youngster on AFL360 on Monday night, in a sign he’s likely to return if available. Mitchell said: “What has been pleasing is the progress of individual players. We brought in Seamus Mitchell, he missed with illness on the weekend, but he’s played 6-7 games in a row, he’s come out of our VFL program and just played every week and done an outstanding job and has fit straight in.”
Fellow half-back Changkuoth Jiath remains unavailable with a calf injury until Round 15 at the earliest.
Sydney coach John Longmire revealed on RSN that Dane Rampe is a “chance this week”, which may impact Lewis Melican’s (AF $300k SC $172k DEF) job security. Tom McCartin is also “feeling better” but won’t be playing this week. The Swans put out their injury report on Tuesday, with Rampe “expected to be available for selection” in Round 13.
The Swans also offered an update on Callum Mills (AF $739k SC $471k MID) who hasn’t played since Round 9 after suffering a calf injury against Fremantle. Head of Physiotherapy and Medical Services Damian Raper said: “Callum has commenced running and we will build his speed and volume over the next week.”
Raper said Joel Amartey (AF $481k SC $255k FWD) “will be assessed for a return to match play this weekend” after a hamstring injury, having trained fully over the past fortnight, which may negatively impact the selection of Lachlan McAndrew (AF $245k SC $123k F/R).
There was an update on Matt Roberts too. Raper said: “Matt has commenced running and will gradually integrate into skills training over the next few weeks as he returns from a knee injury.”
The Western Bulldogs revealed Ed Richards (AF $644k SC $403k DEF) will miss 4-6 weeks with his hamstring injury, which may impact Caleb Daniel’s (AF $644k SC $403k DEF) role and potentially Caleb Poulter’s (AF $410k SC $212k MID) selection positively.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon revealed Jack Billings has suffered a grade 2 hamstring injury in the VFL and will miss the next 4-6 weeks, which may impact fringe selections.
West Coast withdrew its challenge of Liam Duggan’s (AF $851k SC $486k DEF) one-game suspension for rough conduct, after the player fell ill and was admitted to hospital for observation. Duggan has put together a good run of form, including four Fantasy hundreds in his past five games.
Jordan De Goey (AF $749k SC $537k MID) copped a three-game suspension from the AFL Tribunal for his bump on Elijah Hewett.
Read what the coaches said after every Round 12 game with injury updates
Read Honeyball’s CBAs and kick-ins trends from Round 12, to spot role changes