Catch up on all the key coaches’ quotes ahead of Round 1 as SuperCoach and AFL Fantasy coaches scramble to finalise their starting squads from Thursday’s opener.
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Essendon coach Brad Scott offered an insight into Jaxon Prior’s role and selection. He said: “He’s a player that has fit into our system really well. We had an identifiable need for the type of player that he is. He’s fit in really well.
“He’s predominantly played as a defender, but we think he can play through the midfield. He’s played predominantly as a defender in pre-season. He’s earned his spot.”
Carlton coach Michael Voss discussed the debut of Lucas Camporeale. He said: “He’s well and truly earned it. We were looking at him in pre-season & thinking he’s got some great attributes. In the last month, he’s played some really strong football & has pushed his way to the front of the queue.”
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Voss was also asked about Sam Walsh’s fitness after an injury interrupted pre-season. He said: “It’s nice to be able to have him out there, he’s been training with the group the last couple of weeks, so he’s more than ready to go.”
No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor will debut on Thursday and Richmond coach Adem Yze was asked about what fans can expect from him. He said: “He just wants to perform. We’ll help him with that. He’ll start forward on the weekend, he’ll get some midfield exposure. He’ll have some bumps along the way but we’ll just help him through that.”
In terms of making an instant impact, he said: “No doubt, if you watched the game he played against West Coast, if the ball’s in his area, he knows how to play the game. Physically he’s ready.”
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Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir flagged rookie Murphy Reid is “in the mix” to play Round 1. He said: “Yeah he’s in the mix. There’s about 25 or 28 in the mix.
“He has the flexibility to play a couple of roles for us. He has impact as a forward and as a midfielder, and he’s learned and grown his game every week across pre-season He has clean hands and the ability in traffic to deal with the opposition’s pressure, but also deliver it to a teammate in a better position. I think he’s got great composure in that sense.
“He’s got a really good body of work, and we’ll just see where it falls. There’s about 25-28 in the mix, I would have thought. And we’ve got a fair bit to get through with training with a few tests.”
On Liam Reidy playing as lead ruck in Sean Darcy’s absence, Longmuir said: “We’ll work through that after. It’s a bit of a horses for courses with our rucks. With Sean out, there’s a decision around Vossy down forward or Luke Jackson or Reidy as a main ruck. We haven’t settled on that yet.”
On Shai Bolton’s leg stress injury, Longmuir said: “He’ll just need to train. I think he’s feeling pretty good. We won’t take any risks with him. It’s on the minor end. We’ll see what he can handle today and how he pulls up. If he doesn’t get up this week, we’re pretty confident he’ll be right next week.”
Longmuir offered an insight into Hayden Young’s injury status too. He said: “Making sure once we get him back, he’s fit and we get enough work into him to make sure it doesn’t happen again… That’s why the timeframe has pushed, just to mke sure we get it right.”
“It’s making sure that once we get him back, he is fit and we get enough work into him so that it doesn’t happen again,”
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was asked about Will Day’s Opening Round performance. He said: “He’s a super professional performer. He’s had a lot of impact injuries. I think, with Daysy, you hope he can put together a full season and he’s giving himself every chance.”
Port coach Ken Hinkley wouldn’t give anything away on selection, but flagged rookie Joe Berry is a prospect. He said: “He’s come in and done really well… We’ve seen him for 3-4 months train. We’ve seen his Under-18 year and what he was able to do at the highest level.”
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