The roles of veterans Jack Ziebell and Tom Mitchell were discussed by their coaches on Wednesday, having been subs in recent weeks, with a sore knee revealed for the ex-Kangaroos skipper.
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Adelaide assistant coach Nathan van Berlo provided an update on Rory Laird (AF $933k SC $620k MID) on Wednesday, having missed last round with a shoulder injury.
He said: “Lairdy had a fair bit of swelling and soreness over the weekend. It looks like it’s settled down reasonably well. It looks like he got through training. We’ll see how he pulls up this afternoon. Some promising signs for us. I’m hopeful especially with the way he went about it today. We’ll assess how he pulls up over the next 24 hours, but the signs are good today for sure.”
North Melbourne interim coach Brett Ratten has offered an insight into Jack Ziebell’s (AF $661k SC $366k D/F) role in the side moving forward, flagging an injury niggle alongside a need for team balance. Ziebell has been North’s sub for the past three games.
Ratten said: “Not sure (on his role moving forward), he wasn’t going to play (last round), then we lost Lazzaro (late withdrawal) with a back spasm… Ziebs is going to be an interesting one. Do we manage him and give him a spell? His knee has been a little bit sore. That’s the one we’ve got to work through, what’s the best balance for the team? Where does Jack play a part in that as well? It’s trying to find the balance.”
Ratten flagged Jy Simpkin will return from concussion although he “just needs to complete training”, while Liam Shiels will miss with a calf issue. He added Charlie Lazzaro will also likely miss again due to his back problem.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon wasn’t asked about Rowan Marshall’s fitness, despite flagging after Sunday’s win over North that he was also a late withdrawal having undergone a fitness test.
Instead, Lyon said Max King was an “outside chance for next week” after a shoulder injury and confirmed Tim Membrey would play VFL after his own lay-off with injury. Lyon confirmed Brad Hill can’t play this week due to a bruised lung but was hopeful for next week.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae was pressed about Tom Mitchell’s (AF $791k SC $465k MID) status in the side, having been used as sub in Round 18, before being subbed out against Port last round. McRae said: “I had a good chat to Tom yesterday. I won’t share all the details of the conversation other than that he’s an integral part of what we’re doing.
“The game itself, we felt we had to get the ball to the outside and transition. We hadn’t done that for three quarters, so we had to give up a little bit at stoppage to do that. There was conversation around 5-6 players ‘who could we sub?’ We wanted to get Oleg onto run off half-back. He’s (Mitchell’s) an integral part of what we’re doing.
“We got him to the club to be a first-position clearance that puts a lot of pressure on around if he doesn’t get it. That’s what he’s here to do. We want him to play to his strengths and get him back to doing that stuff.
Isaac Quaynor, Josh Daicos and Bobby Hill all missed training due to illness with Collingwood strict on that, but McRae was optimistic they’d all be available to face Carlton on Friday.
Essendon coach Brad Scott was asked about a potential debut for top 10 draft pick Elijah Tsatas (AF $292k SC $189k MID) who has been in strong VFL form lately following a pre-season injury. Scott said: “He’s getting closer and closer. He’s an exciting player and he’s got a lot of great attributes. The temptation is to bring him in but we want to set him up to succeed. He’s getting very close.”
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir brushed off criticism of midfielder Andy Brayshaw’s (AF $916k SC $569k MID) recent form. He said: “Probably a little bit inconsistent at the start (of the year) but I think he’s been playing pretty good footy. I haven’t come across any of that criticism. He had nine score involvements on the weekend. I thought some of his desperate acts to go back with the flight were there. I thought he played well on the weekend.”
Longmuir also backed in youngsters Matthew Johnson and Neil Erasmus to continue to get exposed to AFL footy, with the former being subbed out a few times recently. He said: “They’ve taken steps forward. They’re building, they’ve played some really good footy but now they’re learning what it takes to get up week-in week-out and put a consistent run of games together. That’ll hold them in good stead for the next pre-season.
“It’s a challenge to be able to review a performance individually and have another good week on the track and play somewhat different roles week after week. We’ll continue to challenge them throughout the last five games.”
Read Tuesday’s injury news, with updates on Laird, Mills, Gulden and Oliver
Read Monday’s injury news, with updates on Walsh, Darcy and Ridley
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