The early mail is in ahead of Thursday’s team news with updates on Max Gawn, Finn Maginness, Nick Daicos, Colby McKercher, Dustin Martin, Tim Taranto, Nathan Kreuger and Shadeau Brain.
Press Conferences
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said the Dees won’t be taking any unnecessary risks with star skipper Max Gawn as he works his way back from an ankle injury.
Goodwin said: “He’s working through his process incredibly well. Everyone that knows Max knows how diligent he is. Today is an important day for that process, and we’ll assess him post today. It’s hard to make a decision this morning until we get all the information. As I said, it’s just not one of those things you need to take a risk with, so we need to make sure he’s 100% clear today. We certainly won’t take a risk, this isn’t the time of year to take a risk with any of our players. We need to make sure that he is actually 100% ready to go.”
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell confirmed tagger Finn Maginness is in the selection mix for the Hawks matchup against Collingwood and potential tag target Nick Daicos. He said: “Finn has been in the mix. I think if we weren’t going so well we would’ve found a way to get Finn in, but because we’ve been playing some pretty good footy and been pretty consistent, we haven’t been able to fit him in the side just yet. He is one of those guys that I’d love to be able to get him in. Obviously with his history on Nick … we know that he’s a player the media would certainly love to see, and he’s a player I’d love to see out there. We’ve got a couple of tests today, so we’ll see how we go for match committee this afternoon.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae said he expected Nathan Kreuger to be available despite missing training two days this week. He said: “Kreug had gastro earlier in the week. He’s better but 48 hours out of the program is mandatory when you have that he’ll be training offsite today. We’re confident he’ll be right.”
McRae also said Dan McStay may be ready to return after one week back in the VFL, while he also expected Jeremy Howe to be available despite hamstring awareness.
The Pies coach admitted Jordan De Goey was carrying an injury and hinted he may play more forward for the rest of the year. He said: “We’re going to continue to do that to all our players, put them in a position where we think they might impact. We miss a little bit of an evolution of Jordy’s game in the coming weeks.”
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick discussed the fitness of Jarrod Witts who has missed the past few games with a fractured vertebra. He said: “He’ll miss once again unfortunately. We think he turned the corner yesterday. It was probably a little bit slower than we would’ve liked. So we’ll take the extra week and see how it settles over the course of the weekend. Hopefully he puts his hand up next week to play.”
West Coast interim coach Jarrod Schofield revealed 203cm rookie Archer Reid will travel to Melbourne for Saturday’s game with St Kilda. Key forward Jake Waterman has been ruled out. There were reports that Elliot Yeo wasn’t on the Eagles’ flight to Melbourne on Thursday.
On Reid, Schofield said: “As a traveller… We’ll work through that (selection). We’re coming off a 6-day break. We’ve got some banged up boys. If he doesn’t play, it’s a great experience for him to be part of the group.”
North Melbourne young gun Colby McKercher failed to take part in the Kangaroos main training session today. His availability for this weekend’s matchup against Carlton is undetermined.
North coach Alastair Clarkson offered an update on McKercher missing training. He said: “That’s what we’re just mindful of, we want to manage his loads really well. He’s just come back into senior footy. He’s had a couple of games back now. We just want to manage his loads. He’ll train Saturday morning and hopefully be OK to play. He’s just a little bit domsy (delayed onset muscle soreness) from the weekend’s game having not played a lot of footy the last 6-7 weeks.”
Clarkson also noted Zac Fisher “played well” in the VFL among a handful of other players.
Tigers coach Adem Yze said Richmond star Dustin Martin has once again been ruled out as he continues to deal with a back issue. He said: “It’s a bit of a frustration for us. We were hoping he was going to get up for training today. His back is a little bit grumbly, so if we get him out there today he’s probably going to aggravate it again. It’s easier for us to just rule him out this week and try and get some training load in for the following week.”
Yze also said gun on-baller Tim Taranto has recovered well following his concussion suffered against GWS. He said: “He’s fine. It was only minor, he was okay that night. Unfortunately just goes into the protocols, so we’re going to miss him dearly against a strong stoppage team in Port Adelaide. He was in really good form, he’s going to be frustrated that he can’t get out there and help his teammates. He’ll just miss the one game and obviously come back next week.”
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan confirmed defender Brandon Starcevich is set to return for the Lions clash against Sydney. He said: “He’s right to go. Good to have him back and available again. There’s a few good little forwards playing for the Swans that he’s got the capacity to play on, we look forward to having him back.”
Fagan also praised young defender Shadeau Brain, who came into the side last weekend in place of Starcevich. He said: “That was his first full game … he’s really brave in the air. His intercept marking was outstanding for a player of his size. He showed good composure when he got the ball in his hands. I’m glad we don’t play until Sunday, we get a little bit more time to think our way through (selection).”
