Wednesday’s early mail has landed following Tuesday press conferences from John Longmire and Simon Goodwin plus the AFL Tribunal convening.
Sydney coach John Longmire offered an update on Chad Warner who missed last round with a calf injury. He said: “Chad was declaring himself fit last week, so he felt a little bit tight before the Collingwood game.
“He didn’t say anything, he actually played really well and only mentioned it after the Collingwood game that he was a bit tight. We were really conservative last week giving him last week off.
“He trained really well today. If you consider we were conservative last week, he’s still got to get through training on Thursday. Once again, it’s looking at what’s in front of you… It’s looking positive for him at the moment.”
Longmire was also asked about Will Hayward and Brodie Grundy having a rest this weekend. He said: “Only if they need it. Will’s had a bit of a sore knee for a number of weeks and he actually feels a bit better today. I was concerned about him last week, but he feels a bit better today.
“Brodie’s had a big workload, we’ve been able to manage him during the week, he’s been able to have some time off and down tools and regenerate there as well. You can get into a bit of a rhythm of too much to not enough and you’ve just got to get the balance right. We’ve got some experienced coaches and experienced medical conditioning staff that try and sit down and make the right decisions.”
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge indicated Tim English on Wednesday is likely to miss again this weekend due to his ankle injury. He said: “Probably not this week. He’s close, but we don’t anticipate he’s going to be available this week.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae hinted that Ed Allan could get a call-up following good VFL form. He said: “There won’t be any giving players games. There’s some young guys we’ve spoken about because their form is really, really strong at VFL level.
“Ed Allan, in particular, his form over the last 4 weeks has been well and truly above the level. His name will certainly be coming up in consideration.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott confirmed retiring veteran Dyson Heppell will play this weekend in a pseudo farewell game away to Brisbane.
Beveridge added that Rory Lobb would likely overcome a cork to play and potentially step in for English in the ruck.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said on Tuesday that Steven May was a chance to play but he’s since been ruled out with a ribs issue.
GWS’s appeal for Lachie Ash’s one-game ban for rough conduct at the AFL Tribunal was unsuccessful, meaning he’ll miss Round 24.
Port defender Dan Houston’s AFL Tribunal case led to a five-game suspension for rough conduct after a bump on Izak Rankine who was left concussed.
