There were numerous press conferences on Wednesday, with an interesting note on the selection of Isaac Heeney, along with grabs relating to Finlay Macrae, Harley Reid, Dan Curtin and Nate Caddy.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks admitted they won’t be rushing Dan Curtin into senior AFL football right away with the young full-back set to be eased into the defensive setup in 2023.
He said: “We don’t need to throw Dan (Curtin) in too early and we will be extremely mindful of how we do that. We want to make sure he is ready for that step up.”
Nicks also confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Taylor Walker will not feature against the Suns due to a back injury.
Collingwood Coach Craig McRae hinted promising young midfielder Finlay Macrae is edging closer to selection at his Wednesday morning press conference.
After being close to selection last weekend, Macrae admitted he is likely to feature either this Friday night or next week after being asked reporters what he must do to make the squad.
McRae said: “He doesn’t have to do much more. It’s going to be hard to leave him out this week. I like saying things out loud so everyone can hear it and can hold me to account – We are going to play Fin Macrae very shortly, whether that is this week or next week.”
On Charlie Dean, McRae added: “I have always had the opinion you show trust in people and believe in them. I feel Charlie did enough and is capable of playing at the level.”
Sydney coach John Longmire praised Isaac Heeney for his performance last week and hinted his midfield role could be here to stay for a bit longer.
He told SEN: “He’s played a fair bit of midfield footy in the past and he’s been there in the course of many games over the last couple of years. He probably had a bit more time over the weekend.
“We feel like he can give us some real run and contest, benefit of both in the middle of the ground, and he’ll play the majority there but if he needs to go forward and we need some goals he’ll go there.
“We’ll continue to do that for the next few weeks and see how we go, but we’ll also use him where we need him.”
On Matt Roberts, Longmire said: “He played well last year until he got injured so we’ve had faith in him. He’s smart, he competes well. That’s what we’re pleased about. We know he’s a good ball user and a smart midfielder that’s gone back but he competes well, overhead and at stoppages.”
West Coach Adam Simpson was tight-lipped on selection in Tuesday night’s press conference. He admitted Harley Reid remains a chance to face Port Adelaide this weekend, pending Thursday’s main training session.
He said: “As much as I would love to announce the team, I can’t, we need to wait until Thursday’s session.
“I assume you are asking about Harley… He is definitely in the mix, so we will make that announcement when the time is right.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott provided a further update at his press conference on Wednesday regarding the hamstring injury sustained by Darcy Parish last week.
Scott said: “He had a very mild tightness in his hamstring which we had scanned which shows a very minor hamstring injury, which we weren’t prepared to rule him out for Round one last week.
“He is close, but we don’t think the risk is worth the reward. It’s only a very short-term thing, but enough to rule him out this week.”
Scott also mentioned the temptation of announcing the debut of Nate Caddy. He said: “If form on the track dictated selection, he would be right in the mix, but it is probably a stretch this week.”
