The SuperCoach and AFL Fantasy are a week away but the 2024 AFL season starts on Thursday with Opening Round, so clubs are putting out all their injury reports this week.
As a result, Honeyball has consolidated all the SuperCoach and Fantasy relevant news in one spot to help you build your starting squad.
INJURY NEWS
Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy will miss the “opening rounds of the AFL season” having undergone an arthroscope on his left knee. The Dockers were yet to determine a timeline for his recovery upon Tuesday’s injury report, stating they’ll confirm the return to play “in the coming days” with his absence thrusting Luke Jackson into relevance if he gets an extended run as no.1 ruck.
Since that, Freo coach Justin Longmuir spoke to 3AW and revealed: “We’re hoping best case scenario is probably 3-5 weeks. He’s relatively short term.”
Adelaide has confirmed Riley Thilthorpe will miss at least three months following knee surgery, opening the door for Chris Burgess to play.
Crows assistant coach Jack Hombsch said earlier in the week: “There’s a few guys putting their hand up (and) I think we’ve got a lot of depth there. We brought Chris Burgess over from Gold Coast last year, who can certainly play that role and Lachie Gollant, he’s chomping at the bit to have a crack as well. Those guys are certainly ready to go and we’ve got a lot of faith in those boys to come in and play their role.”
Port Adelaide confirmed Zak Butters had avoided serious injury after spraining his ankle in their AAMI Community Series game against Freo. Port said in an update: “An MRI confirmed no major structural injury, with the midfielder expected to be available for Round 1.”
Port also revealed Dante Valentini is “tracking well” in his return from concussion protocols which may impact Jordon Sweet’s selection.
Richmond revealed Dustin Martin is in doubt for Round 0, while Toby Nankervis (heel) was likely to face Carlton in Round 1, which is bad news for Sam Naismith’s job security.
Richmond Physical Performance Manager Luke Meehan said: “Toby’s been building his workloads over the last couple of weeks. Everything’s going really well, really happy with how he’s progressing. Toby will be unavailable this week and he’s looking likely to play against Carlton.”
Meehan added: “Dustin received a knock towards the end of (Tuesday’s) session. He was sent for precautionary scans which have cleared him of major damage, and we’re going to monitor him over the next couple of days.” Martin was on Thursday ruled out by coach Adem Yze.
Meehan also offered an update on Tom Lynch. He said: “Tom’s put in an amount of work over the last six weeks. He’s done a couple of main sessions now and he’s got another really important session this Thursday. A few things to get through there and we’re hopeful that he’ll be available next week.”
The Western Bulldogs put out their injury report with Jackson Macrae not listed after playing in the VFL practice game following a hamstring injury. Bailey Dale “will be tested during the main sessions over the next fortnight” following a tight hamstring.
GWS have confirmed potential debutant Darcy Jones won’t play Round 0 and in fact miss 1-2 weeks with a knee issue. GWS said in their injury report: “Jones has been dealt a minor setback off the back of an impressive pre-season campaign, with the 19-year-old missing last week’s AAMI Community Series match due to tonsilitis and knee soreness. He will ramp up his training this week and is expected to be available for selection in one to two weeks.”
GWS also ruled out Finn Callaghan (shoulder) and Harry Perryman (hamstring) for Round 0 (both listed as one week) and Isaac Cumming (quad) for 2-3 weeks.
Gold Coast confirmed first-round 2023 Draft picks Jake Rogers and Jed Walter will miss the opening rounds due to back and collarbone injuries respectively.
Suns head physio Lindsay Bull said: “Jed has had an operation and is due to have some repeat imaging on that in the next couple of weeks. The results of that will determine his return to play but we expect that to be in a few weeks’ time.
“Unfortunately for Jake, he had stress fractures in his back so he needed quite a significant period of deloading. He’s been running now for the past eight weeks and trained fully for the last couple. He just needs a little block of pre-season training before he’s available for selection – hopefully that’s in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Geelong reported that Ollie Henry (rolled ankle) will be available for Round 1 which may impact Shaun Mannagh’s selection. However, Gary Rohan (back) will likely return via the VFL in Round 1.
Essendon confirmed defender Jordan Ridley will miss 3-4 weeks with a low-grade quad strain, while they reported rookie Nate Caddy was “available” for selection. The Dons said: “Caddy is integrating back into main training after overcoming soreness from an awkward landing at training a couple of weeks ago.”
Injury-prone Collingwood ruck-forward Nathan Kreuger will be out of action due at least Round 5 due to a hamstring injury suffered in their VFL practice game. Jeremy Howe will miss Saturday’s Round 0 game with a calf injury but is expected to be available for Round 1. That may impact Charlie Dean’s selection.
Conor McKenna will miss Round 0 with a hamstring injury but appears set to be available for Round 1 having resumed modified training on Tuesday, which may impact Keidean Coleman’s role.
Carlton confirmed Sam Walsh will miss their first two games, with his timeline to be revisited after their Round 2 bye, while Michael Voss confirmed Zac Williams will play in Round 0 after missing 12 months with an ACL injury.
Melbourne revealed Lachie Hunter (calf) is still 3-4 weeks off a return to full training which is good news for debutant winger Caleb Windsor in the same role.
North Melbourne confirmed Jy Simpkin will miss Round 1 due to concussion protocols.
St Kilda confirmed Jack Sinclair (calf) and Marcus Windhager (hand) have tests to pass to be considered for Round 1. Saints EGM of Football David Misson said: “Jack and Marcus are progressing well in their rehabilitations and we are pleased with their progress to-date. Jack received a positive result from a follow-up scan last week and will look to reintegrate to the main program this week.”
West Coast remain hopeful rookie Clay Hall can be available for Round 1. Eagles High Performance Manager Mathew Inness said: “Clay had an ankle issue in our intraclub. It’s progressing really well. He’s back running. We expect him to join in training this week and early next week and be available for selection in probably a week or two.”
Inness also offered an update on former Mid-Season Draft top pick Jai Culley. He said: “Jai is going really well with his ACL injury he suffered last year. He’s in full training. He’s probably four-to-six weeks away from being able to play competitive games, but in good news he’s back in full training with us.”
Hawthorn’s Dylan Moore offered an update on his own availability for Round 1 following glandular fever. He told SEN: “I’m feeling pretty good, it was a rough couple weeks when I first got diagnosed, but I’m starting to do some running and contact stuff now which has been great… I’ll need to put out a big session next week to put my hand up for Round 1.”
