Stay up to date throughout Round 15 with our rolling injury report from the coaches post-game. With the six-game round extending from Friday night until Sunday, these snippets of info will be key.
Carlton v Geelong
Carlton coach Michael Voss was full of praise for Tom De Koning who dominated again as sole ruck, with Marc Pittonet absent. He said: “I’m OK to celebrate people and what they’re doing – we should when they are in great form… He has certainly taken his game to another level. He has taken his training to a completely different level as well. It’s not complicated where he has found himself.”
Tom Hawkins limped out of the game with a foot injury which will require scans. Geelong coach Chris Scott said: “I’m not saying the news is good news, but I’m not saying the news is bad either. He had to come off with a foot issue – it’s mid-foot – he has had an issue with his toe but it is a fair way away from that. The experts we have don’t know, so I certainly don’t have anything more to add. “They are not saying (that it might be season over) and I certainly don’t want to say anything that alleviates the concern because we are concerned, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions either.”
Tom Stewart was forward-tagged by Alex Cincotta but Scott was still happy with his output. He said: “The opposition will have to worry about Tom every game he plays. It’s been happening for a long time. I think he continually wins his position, I thought he was fantastic especially early in the game. Great in the air, supporting. I thought his pressure, his tackling, if we could get after the Blues the way Stewy did, it might have been different.”
Patrick Dangerfield was offered a one-game suspension for a dangerous tackle. Scott hinted they’d experiment with their depth and options moving forward, potentially opening the door for the likes of Mitch Hardie, George Stevens or Lawson Humphries.
Port Adelaide v Brisbane Lions
Port coach Ken Hinkley clarified Zak Butters was OK after a shoulder knock saw him checked on the bench. Hinkley said: “It’s OK. It looks like a bit of a stinger on it. One of the good parts was he fought his way through the game and kept trying all day Zak.”
Hinkley had praise for debutant Logan Evans who played in defence. He said: “I thought it was real positive to see a bloke who’s only been drafted a couple of weeks ago. That’s what we’ve seen and we liked through the pre-season, to be honest. I think he shows he’s got a pretty bight future as an AFL player.”
The Port coach also clarified Jordon Sweet hadn’t succumbed to concussion after a knock. Hinkley said: “Nah, he passed the concussion test. We came off and did a concussion test but he passed the concussion test.”
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan also clarified why Kai Lohmann was subbed out. He said: “He just got a bit of a corkie on the hip. We’ve got a game in 6 days. We had Shadeau (Brain) sitting there, we thought we’d just get him into the game and ice Kai up and make sure he’s right for next week.”
GWS Giants v Sydney
GWS coach Adam Kingsley said he expected Stephen Coniglio should return next week from a shoulder injury. He said: “I would expect ‘Cogs’ to be fit. He got through training, no problems, just wasn’t 100 per cent confident without the same level of contact (in training). I would expect him to play against Adelaide.”
Kingsley also had injury updates on Isaac Cumming, Harry Perryman and Darcy Jones. He said: “I’d expect Cumming to be fit and available. I’d expect Pez to be back. Jones came back from injury today and was lighting in the VFL. Whether we bring him back or not, not sure.”
The GWS coach was asked about debutant Max Gruzewski who played as a key forward and scored 25/16 AF/SC points. He said: “I thought he did well. He didn’t touch the ball a lot but I thought he competed well. He’s where we needed him to be, finished with two goals. He did his job. I was pleased with him. Tough matchups against their backs, tough condition for a key forward, he did well.”
Kingsley was also asked about Toby McMullin who had 16 disposals in a defensive midfield role. He said: “I’ve seen his ability in the contest. He’s a little bit more composed now than what he was. He knows his strengths, he’s able to bring them to the ore a little bit more. We think he’s going to be a really good player, he just needs opportunity to play. A few guys out in his position gives him that opportunity.”
Errol Gulden was named best on ground and Sydney coach John Longmire praised him and his end-to-end work rate. He said: “What he’s top notch at is running really hard. His ability to go both ways is top level. His work rate both sides of the ball is strong… his work rate is enormous. He gets from contest to contest as good as anyone.”
Longmire also had positive comments about debutant Caiden Cleary, who started as sub and only got 20% time on ground, collecting 4 disposals for 23/27 AF/SC points. He said: “He came on and did a good job. He was busy. He was hard.
“He’s got a great tank and he’s a competitor, so that’s a good start for him. I thought he did a bit of good stuff. He didn’t play a lot of footy but did some good things, playing in a bit of a different role than what he’s used to as a junior.”
Melbourne v North Melbourne
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin acknowledged Will Phillips’ tagging role, clamping down Clayton Oliver who only had only 14 disposals, no marks and gave away 5 free-kicks.
Goodwin said: “He shut Clayton out of the game for the majority of the night. Clayton keeps working through it and he’ll continue to work through it. Clayton’s had a lot of attention for a long time, so the young fella did a good job on him… I’m sure Clayton will be back in some good form soon.”
Goodwin praised Koltyn Tholstrup who came into the side, filling some of the role of Christian Petracca. He said: “We gave some responsibility to other players, with Koltyn coming into the team and I thought he did a good job.”
The Dees coach used Trent Rivers in the midfield to take up Petracca’s role too and he scored 110/131 (AF/SC). He said; “We found something with Trent Rivers as a midfielder. That’s what it does, injuries to key players give you an opportunity to look at your list. We’re really rapt with how he went.”
Christian Salem was subbed out and Goodwin said: “He’s just had a knock through the week and he was still getting a little bit ginger. We’re pretty confident he’ll be right to go.” Goodwin also said they were confident Jake Lever would return from injury next week.
Toby Pink rolled his ankle and was subbed out but North coach Alastair Clarkson wasn’t asked about him.
Essendon v West Coast
West Coast coach Adam Simpson said he expected Harley Reid (suspension) and Tim Kelly (hip/knee) to return next week. He added Dom Sheed had his sign-off on Saturday from a hamstring issue and would “be in the mix” for next week.
Essendon coach Chris Scott said Nik Cox was fine despite limping before being subbed out.
Fremantle v Gold Coast
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir spoke about Andy Brayshaw’s return to big scoring form, insisting there was no role change. He said: “His role hasn’t changed a lot… Pleased with his game. I thought he was back to his elite hunt, work rate. I thought he pressured well. He was very effective.”
When asked about debutant Hugh Davies, Longmuir said: “He’s a competitor. He would’ve been nervous playing on a pretty handy forward. Second and third efforts will hold him on good stead.”
Longmuir said Alex Pearce had suffered a sore arm but wasn’t sure of the extent, while Josh Treacy had a “dead arm”.
The Dockers coach praised the improving form of Sean Darcy. He said: “Sean is progressing well. He’s starting to get to full fitness, he’s still not quite there yet. He took a couple of good marks, got his hands to a couple. So his work around the ground has still got some work to do. I thought he was more proactive today. I think his physicality around stoppages really helps us. He’s taken some good steps forward.”
Suns coach Damien Hardwick said Ben King would need to tick boxes this week in training to return, with Sam Day covering his spot for now.
