Friday’s late mail has dropped with updates on Finn O’Sullivan, Mitch Knevitt, Tom Stewart, Izak Rankine, Elijah Hewett, Sid Draper, Jye Caldwell and Hayden Young.
On Friday morning, North Melbourne confirmed rookie Finn O’Sullivan will miss their Round 4 game due to illness, replaced in the selected team by Riley Hardeman.
Geelong coach Chris Scott has explained the decision to “manage” Mitch Knevitt, having been sub last week.
Scott told reporters: “Mitch Knevitt won’t play, he has had a little bit of a foot issue. Knevitt is the only one we know for sure that is going out at the moment. He has had a little plantar fascia issue, it actually wasn’t the reason that he was the sub last week.
“The way it has been explained to me is that they would like to get on top of that, especially given the fact that he is a young developing player and it is early in the season, rather than having him push through. It is frustrating for him because he would be in our 22.”
Scott also provided a positive update on defender Tom Stewart, who is set to return from a knee injury. He said: “Tom [Stewart] will play, unless something that we are not expecting happens in the next 24 hours.
“I think I was clear last week that he was very close, which gave us supreme confidence that he would be okay, and nothing changed in his training early in the week to alter that thinking.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks provided an update on Izak Rankine’s role, which was made more intriguing after Matt Crouch was left out on Thursday afternoon of their final team.
Nicks said: “We would love to keep him (Rankine) around the footy – we’d love two of him, to be honest, another one forward. He complements the guys in and around the footy, they’re all making each other better. Matt Crouch is a different player to Izak Rankine and the two of them together make quite a duo.”
The Crows coach also discussed Sid Draper’s role having been used as the sub. When asked if he could come into the 22, he said: “Possibly. It’s a team decision but I thought he was great on the weekend. He’s taken to that role.
“We’ll make that decision for the team but also for him, because if he’s performing well, it’s not one we need to change. With Josh (Rachele) going out, it does change things slightly.”
Essendon provided an update on Jye Caldwell who suffered a hamstring injury in training on Tuesday, ruling him out of their next two games.
The update said: “The Club will have a clearer picture of his return to play timeline in the coming days and will provide further updates on his rehab and recovery progress in due course. The Bombers are set to have the Round 4 bye this weekend, followed by Round 5 vs. Melbourne and Round 6 vs. West Coast Eagles, which Caldwell is set to miss.”
West Coast confirmed in their team selection update that Elijah Hewett will miss with a calf injury.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir confirmed Sean Darcy (ankle/knee) and Hayden Young (hamstring) will miss again, instead returning from injuries via the WAFL. He said: “Sean is going to play WAFL. He won’t train today on the basis that he did a bit of extra work earlier in the week.
“Youngy we will see how he goes through training, and we will have a discussion this afternoon. We’ve got no doubt he could probably play AFL, but we need to think a bit longer-term with this. We want to set him up for the best result for us (for the rest of the season).”
Longmuir also said veteran Nat Fyfe won’t play following soreness after playing in the WAFL last weekend.
Port named Zak Butters to return from injury in their extended squad for Sunday’s game but they seem certain to have him play, which may impact the role of Christian Moraes who has been named on the wing.
The club’s team selection update said: “Butters will feature in his first AFL game for 2025 after returning from injury. Butters underwent a knee procedure during pre-season, with the 24-year-old now back in full training, and is fit and firing for Sunday’s game.”
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Ben Somerford
