Stay up to date throughout Round 20 with our rolling injury report from the coaches post-game. With the nine-game round extending from Friday night until Sunday, these snippets of info will be key.
Carlton v Port Adelaide
Patrick Cripps copped a few knocks across the evening. Blues coach Michael Voss said: “I think so. He’s had a few. I don’t know what he actually had when he came off, so I don’t know what he was getting assessed. I’ll get that brief in a sec. I don’t think there’s anything sinister in either. He’s copping a few bruises isn’t he. We’re finding our way through that.”
Voss clarified Harry McKay’s late withdrawal was due to illness, and nothing to do with his controversial HIA last round.
The Blues coach said David Cuningham was subbed out early with a dislocated shoulder. He added: “We’ll get that assessed and see what that damage is… I couldn’t really tell. He’s had it before. I’m not expecting the best news.”
Port coach Ken Hinkley heaped praise on Zak Butters who worked through an Alex Cincotta tag. He said: “I thought he was great. I don’t know about down night, I thought his second half and the way he fought back was really important.”
Hinkley clarified Lachie Jones was subbed out for “tactical” reasons, given he was cramping in his hamstring and they didn’t want to take a risk.
North Melbourne v Geelong
Geelong coach Chris Scott praised Rising Star contender Ollie Dempsey after scoring 88/108. He said: “Ollie has had a great year. He’s maybe developed a bit quicker than we thought.
“(He) didn’t play much footy as a junior and wasn’t as physically developed as some other young players. He’s got a real feel for the game. His instincts are really, really good.”
Sam De Koning, who played full-back not ruck this week, limped off with a knee concern which appeared to be a corkie. Scott explained: “We had a couple of bumps and bruises. Sam De Koning got a knock to his knee but was OK to go back on. He just didn’t play the last 5-6 minutes as a precaution. My understanding is everything else was clear.”
Patrick Dangerfield seemed to roll his ankle late, while Gary Rohan exited and has entered concussion protocols. Scott also praised Shaun Mannagh who was “lively” and “trending really nicely”.
North coach Alastair Clarkson noted Aidan Corr had an ankle injury but played on, while Charlie Comben was “a bit sore”.
Gold Coast v Brisbane Lions
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan downplayed any concerns of a late Dayne Zorko injury. He said: “No, nothing in that. He had a terrific game, Zorks. He’s doing such a good job at 35.”
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick discussed Matt Rowell’s game and role moving forward. He said: “What we will look to do with Matt to prolong him through the back-half of the year, we’ll start to explore a couple of other opportunities forward for him. He’s a capable ball-winner, capable goal-kicker, we just need another pre-season to refine that.”
Hardwick was also pleased with the Jarrod Witts and Ned Moyle ruck combination having played both together for the first time. He said: “We’ll look at it. Once again Witta was really good in the ruck and Moyle took really, really some strong marks inside 50 as well.”
St Kilda v Essendon
Essendon coach Brad Scott discussed the injury that saw Jordan Ridley subbed out. He said: “He got just a nasty knee in his hip. It was to the front of his hip. We had some concerns around his quad, that he’s injured before.
“We don’t know, is the bottom line. He had a lot of pain, couldn’t function, so we had no choice but to sub him off. We’ll scan that and fingers crossed, it presents like a knee to the hip which is a pretty severe cork. Hopefully it’s nothing more serious than that.”
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said they picked up no new injuries, noting Josh Battle was sore.
Melbourne v GWS Giants
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin hailed Clayton Oliver who re-discovered some form. He said: “He’s getting closer to his best. He’s had those challenges throughout the pre-season, but he’s continued to find ways to improve and he’ll keep doing that – that’s the kind of person he is.”
GWS coach Adam Kingsley said Stephen Coniglio should return next week but Josh Kelly would likely miss another week.
On Coniglio, he said: “Expect him to be. He’ll have to get through training with his shoulder. He was touch and go this week but we decided to be safe than sorry. I would expect he’ll be fine. I think Josh Kelly will be another week away with his calf but he’s been training well.”
Fremantle v West Coast
West Coast lost Zane Trew early, although caretaker coach Jarrad Schofield indicated it was a neck/whiplash type injury as opposed to a concussion. He was taken to hospital post-game for scans. Luke Edwards also had an injury late in the game.
Freo coach Justin Longmuir praised best afield Caleb Serong. He said: “He’s becoming a better player week in, week out. He’s had a phenomenal season.” Longmuir also said Sean Darcy had a sore shoulder after a heavy knock, which has led to the MRO offering Jack Petruccelle a one-game ban.
Jack Hutchinson was also offered a one-game suspension for rough conduct on Andy Brayshaw. Nat Fyfe was offered a one-game ban for striking Jai Culley.
Collingwood v Richmond
Richmond subbed out Tim Taranto due to a back injury. Tigers coach Adem Yze said: “He just got a tight lower back. He tweaked it in the first quarter and it just got worse and worse. He tried to toil away, play different positions, but it was too high risk. We’ve got a 6-day break… Tim should be OK, hopefully next week.”
Yze said Daniel Rioli rolled his ankle, got it assessed and played on, indicating he’d be OK for next week. He added Toby Nankervis was “ticking the boxes through the concussion protocols” and Dustin Martin was likely after a back complaint.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae explained Jordan De Goey’s late withdrawal due to a groin injury. He said: “It’s difficult to know what’s going on there for me … other than he looked really sore this week.
“He’s been looking really sore early in the week and we’re de-loading him and running straight lines and getting him to the line but this week he looked really sore, so we’ll work through that.”
Joe Richards was a late out due to gastro, while McRae noted Nick Daicos had been rested at training during the week. On Daicos, he said: “We rested him this week to give him energy. Geez, he had plenty of energy… He’s a remarkable young man who has an ability to know what we need, when we need it.”
Sydney v Western Bulldogs
Lewis Melican succumbed to a hamstring injury an dSydney coach John Longmire said: “(It was) bad enough to sub out, we’ll wait and see how the scan goes tomorrow.”
Will Hayward also battled an ankle complaint and Longmire said they’d see how he pulls up. The Swans coach also noted James Rowbottom should play next week.
Dogs coach Luke Beveridge explained the decision to sub Nick Coffield who got crunched at one point. He said: “He was just a little bit tight late, so we don’t think he’s got an injury.
“We subbed him off just with the awareness that we’ve got a five-day break, but I thought he’d been really important for us.”
Adelaide v Hawthorn
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks noted Brodie Smith missed the game due to illness. Riley Thilthorpe went off after a head knock.
