The early mail is in ahead of Wednesday’s team news with updates on Ryley Sanders, Tom Liberatore, Clayton Oliver, Darcy Jones, Harry Sheezel, Riley Hardeman and Dan Curtin.

UPDATES

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge offered insight into why Ryley Sanders was used as the substitute in Round 6 and how he may be utilised in the senior side going forward. He said: “It’s more just pressure for spots. I’d love to keep Ryley in and play him full minutes every week but he’s learning.

“The thing about the younger guys, when they start at this level, it’s more about what they’re doing when they’re not directly involved in the game. He’s learning all the time about where to be, whether we’ve got the footy or the opposition. It’s in that why he’s come off a couple of times and been subbed and found himself as sub last week. You’ve got to strike a balance.”

Beveridge also flagged further changes to the Bulldogs midfield mix with Tom Liberatore in the frame to return for their clash against Fremantle, qwhich may impact the likes of Jackson Macrae. He said: “He’ll train today and hopefully gets through the session. He should be available… (His return) means the (midfield) blend and the contributors will be a little bit different this week.”

North coach Alastair Clarkson discussed the potential of a midfield switch for Harry Sheezel. He said: “We’ll give that some consideration. At various stages of the game last week he was in the midfield… We’ll just see the balance of our side. Sheezel playing back for us has been one part of the ground that’s safely been working OK for us. We knew when we moved him to half-back it’d be an introduction to AFL footy for him. It was probably unlikely it’d be the position he’d play the rest of his career. He’s done it so well though.

“At some point in time we’re going to move him, is that this week? Dunno, might be at some stage of the game. At some stage in the future I’m sure he’s going to be either a midfield or forward role.”

The Roos also confirmed a debut for Riley Hardeman, who went with pick 23 in the 2023 AFL Draft and is a 184cm line-breaking defender. Hardeman’s debut could see him step into the half-back line and see Sheezel move into the midfield.

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said Clayton Oliver is “eager as ever” and set to find his best form following finger surgery during the bye. He said: “You can see once again, similar to the start of the season, he’s got that smile on his face and got that eagerness, and that energy to come out and perform. The way he trained yesterday was unbelievable and we’re excited by that.”

GWS youngster Darcy Jones is set to make his AFL debut for the Giants on Thursday night, coming in to replace suspended skipper Toby Greene. Jones missed the entire 2023 season recovering from an ACL injury and was a standout across the preseason for GWS before illness and a minor niggle impacted his availability ahead of Round 0.

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said that Daniel Curtin is “nearly ready to go” and could be in the mix to replace Brodie Smith, who is “50/50” for the Crows match against North Melbourne. He said: “We’re enjoying what he’s doing. He’s been challenged, last week he played on probably one of the best key forwards in the game as another step in his development. So he continues to put his hand up.”

Billy Dowling was another potential option floated by the Crows coach, referencing the untried midfielder’s strong SANFL in recent weeks.

Nicks also discussed the form of Rory Laird and his role this week in the evolving Adelaide midfield. He said: “We’re changing a fair bit through that midfield as it is. We’ve got a number of guys who rotate through. We’ve talked about changing the dynamic in there.

“I’d like to even see Lairdy get back to that hunt that we know he can bring. Maybe with some of these small changes we’ve made we’ve taken that away from him. I actually think Rory will play quite a strong game this week. I think he’s keen to get out and really hunt that footy.”