The early mail is in ahead of Thursday’s team news with updates on Rowan Marshall, Jack Steele, Tom Liberatore, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Adam Cerra and Connor Rozee.
Press Conferences
There’s been some injury doubts about Rowan Marshall after spending time off the field early last week against Port, while he exited training early on Thursday too, reportedly due to illness. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon discussed the Saints team structure and the role of Marshall moving forward, backing in the big man to continue going solo in the ruck. He said: “Rowan is clearly our number one ruckman, and a lot of teams go with one ruck.”
Lyon noted that while veteran ruckman Tom Campbell may come into selection consideration at some point this season, it will only be when necessary. He said: “(Tom’s) pretty comfortable knowing we’ll call on him if needed, more than unseating Rowan or us playing two rucks. We know he can play good footy and he’s a great clubman. We’re really pleased to have him here.”
Additionally, captain Jack Steele trained fully today as the Saints look set for a selection squeeze with Max King, Mason Wood and Jimmy Webster all pressing their availability.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said star pair Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Tom Liberatore are both expected to return to the side for the Dogs clash against the Hawks. On Liberatore, who missed Round 7 with illness, Beveridge said: “It was a bit of a strange set of circumstances with Tommy, but he’s fine now and he trained Tuesday so it should be all systems go with him.”
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson said midfield pair Luke Davies-Uniacke and Jy Simpkin aren’t certainties to be fit for the Kangas match against the Saints this weekend. He said: “They did most of the session. They’ve got little niggles which is common for players as they try to prepare from one game to the next.
“They did as much as they needed to do today and they’ll train again tomorrow fully. Hopefully they’ll be right to go against the Saints. I think they’ll be OK, but we’ll just wait and see tomorrow.” This could bode well for Tom Powell getting midfield time.
Blues coach Michael Voss said Adam Cerra will be available for selection this week after recovering from a hamstring injury. He said: “He’s come up quite well. Could’ve been right on the edge last week, we sort of went a bit more conservative. He’s been able to train really well so he’ll be ready to go.” Voss said Mitch McGovern would need another week.
The Carlton coach also noted that his side could possibly look at sending some extra attention the way of Magpies star Nick Daicos, but it won’t come at the expense of team balance and structure. Voss said: “(Collingwood) have a few little tricks that they’re able to do with how he moves around the ground. Sometimes you can spend a lot of time getting after one player and then it can pull apart the rest of what you’re trying to achieve. We’ve just gotta find the balance in that.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed that midfield pair Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell will both miss the Magpies clash against the Blues. He said: “Unfortunately Jordy won’t play. He’s got tight groins, so we’ve just gotta back him off a little bit and let those things settle down. Who knows when he’s available, ideally next week. Tom won’t play either. Tom’s got some plantar fascia stuff that’s been grumbling for probably a month now and it’s just got to the point where we know we can do some stuff that’ll make a huge spike in that and hopefully rid that in the week too.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott has flagged a potential shake up in the Bombers midfield, with Archie Perkins likely to return from injury. He said: “Provided Archie trains well, he’s had a really strong training block. We’ve been really conservative with him, we’re assuming he’ll get through the session really strongly today and we’ll have a selection dilemma.”
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said the Power aren’t taking any unnecessary risks with the selection of Connor Rozee, and there are no doubts over the skipper’s fitness due to hamstring tightness. He said on Wednesday: “We do all the necessary requirements of testing and finding out and seeing where he’s at. We don’t take risks. We’ve been pretty good with that I think, and I think we’ve been really really open over my period of time, particularly this year. We wouldn’t take an unnecessary risk.”
Debutants
Adelaide announced that highly touted draftee Dan Curtin will make his debut tonight. He has been named at half-back for the Showdown against the Power. His selection comes after an impressive performance in the SANFL last week that saw him amass 31 possessions.
The absence of De Goey and Mitchell has opened the door for Collingwood recruit Lachie Sullivan, as the Pies have announced that the 26-year-old inside midfielder will be making his AFL debut against Carlton.
Charlie Clarke will make his senior debut for the Western Bulldogs on Sunday against Hawthorn. His opportunity comes as the Dogs are set to be without small forwards Rhylee West (suspension) and Cody Weightman (injury) this weekend.
