Port Adelaide have declared Connor Rozee will be available for Thursday’s Showdown, while Dan Curtin will debut for Adelaide and there’s key news out of West Coast.
Firstly to Connor Rozee who was benched in the fourth quarter against St Kilda on the weekend with a hamstring concern. Port assistant coach Josh Carr said on Monday there’d be a “small chance” he’d be available.
Port’s injury update on Tuesday said: “Rozee has passed a fitness test and will be available for Thursday’s game.
“Rozee was rested in the last quarter of Friday’s win over St Kilda as a precaution, with scans on Saturday showing a minor hamstring issue. The 24-year-old has since tested well and has been pain free over the last few days.”
Port also confirmed Ivan Soldo will be out for up to 5 weeks following knee arthroscopy which will offer Jordon Sweet an extended run in the ruck.
Ahead of Thursday’s showdown, Adelaide confirmed highly-rated rookie Dan Curtin will make his debut. Curtin was taken with pick 8 in the 2023 AFL Draft.
Fremantle offered a positive injury update on Josh Draper who was subbed out on Saturday with a hamstring issue.
Freo High Performance Manager Phil Merriman said: “Josh came out of the game as a precaution – he had a tight hamstring. Pleasingly he has presented really well so we’re going to take him through the gears and he’ll be a test to play this week.”
Speaking on 7NewsPerth on Tuesday night, Freo coach Justin Longmuir said: “It’s definitely looking a lot more positive now than what it did during the game. He’s recovered really well. He’ll be touch and go. We’ll get him through training and see what he can complete and whether it’s worth taking the risk or not.”
West Coast coach Adam Simpson declared Harley Reid will return in Round 8 after being managed last round. He told 7NewsPerth: “He’ll be back this week.”
Simpson also commented on Elliot Yeo, having discussed resting him on the weekend. When asked if he’d rest Yeo this weekend, he said: “No, unless he’s really sore. We’re leaving too much to too few and Elliot is one of those guys. He can’t sustain that all year. At stages he may need a break. We’ve got an eye on it but hopefully he plays this week.”
Gold Coast have cleared Sam Clohesy of injury following a wrist scare on the weekend. The Suns injury update said: “Clohesy left the field with a wrist complaint in the third quarter, but was able to return to the contest and has been cleared of any injury ahead of this weekend’s QClash.”
Geelong failed to declare Tom Stewart a certain starter in Round 8 but said he’s “on track” having entered concussion protocols in Round 6. Geelong face Melbourne on Saturday evening.
In the Cats injury update, the club revealed Patrick Dangerfield will miss 4-6 weeks with his latest hamstring injury.
GWS said Stephen Coniglio is a test to play this week following an MCL injury. The Giants update said: “After returning to running last week, he’ll push his case to be selected during main training on Thursday.”
Collingwood revealed minor injury concerns for Jordan De Goey (groin) and Tom Mitchell (foot) with both to be assessed ahead of Friday’s game against Carlton.
Hawthorn rookie Nick Watson is a chance to return from an ankle injury this weekend. Hawks High Performance Manager Peter Burge said: “He spent last week running fast and changing direction. He had a session over the weekend where he consolidated that work and conditioning that we’ve been building.
“He’s a test this week as we want to see how training goes Wednesday, see how it feels and then if that goes well we’ll progress to training on Friday. We’ll have more information later in the week.”
The Western Bulldogs have confirmed Tom Liberatore should return this week. The Dogs update said: “Liberate is expected to return to the line-up for the Hawthorn clash after recovering from a bout of gastro in Perth.”
North Melbourne revealed Jy Simpkin, who had a rise in CBAs last round, may miss next round due to a strain.
North head of performance Kevin White said: “Scans show a minor strain on one of the smaller muscles for Jy. He will look to clear our soft tissue protocols at the end of the week to play.”
One for Draft, with Sydney revealing Callum Mills has suffered an injury setback in his long-term recovery from a shoulder issue.
The Swans update said: “Callum suffered a low-grade calf strain while running last weekend. Subsequently, his return to play date from his shoulder injury is likely to be pushed back a few weeks.”
