The early mail is trickling out with injury updates ahead of Round 14, headlined by Tom McCarthy, Bo Allan, Nick Madden, Sam Darcy, Tom Liberatore, Mattaes Phillipou and Jackson Macrae.
Mid-season draft no.1 pick Tom McCarthy is a chance to make his debut this round, with Eagles coach Andrew McQualter discussing his case. He said: “It’s also a potential. Tom has played 2 games for us now, but he actually hasn’t main trained with our group yet.
“He was back in Melbourne for a personal commitment last week. Today will be his first full training with our group. The challenge is, we think he can play, he’ll be a long-term player for us. But we also want to set him up to succeed and understand what we’re trying to do out there. We’ll weigh that up in match committee.”
Speaking earlier in the week on SEN, Eagles football manager Gavin Bell indicated McCarthy was in the mix for a debut this week. He said: “He certainly played well again on Saturday… he’s come in and trained really well. He’s definitely a strong chance to play, with the way he breaks the lines and his use of the ball, and a mature body as well. He’ll certainly be in the mix.”
McQualter also spoke about Bo Allan’s chances to play a full game this week, with Tom Cole ruled out, having been sub lately.
He said: “It’s been challenging for Bo the last few weeks being sub and getting such small game time, so we’re going to play him a full game somewhere this week. He won’t be sub, so we’ll just work through that. There’s potential that there is a spot there in the backline for him.”
GWS coach Adam Kingsley revealed Toby Greene is in doubt this weekend after a hip issue sustained last round.
He said: “He’s still got 48 hours, so we’ll give him every chance. It’s just a knock. It was a good knee to his buttocks. It’s a deep cork and it’s just hindering his ability to run and move. That’s why we subbed him and it just hasn’t recovered.”
Finn Callaghan will return from injury for GWS. Kingsley said: “Yeah Finn is fine. He’s good. It’ll boost our midfield. We feel like we’re getting back to full strength.”
With Kieren Briggs still out, Kingsley backed Nick Madden to remain ruck. He said: “I liked his debut. I thought he was strong around the stoppages. He contributed around the ground as a transition ruckman. It was a pretty strong debut in trying conditions… I’m really comfortable (with him leading the ruck). He’s got another challenge this week.”
He also hinted Madden could take Briggs’ spot long-term if he can perform well. He said: “Possibly. Depends how well he plays. You don’t change a winning team as they say, and while that might not necessarily be true, what we’re finding out is that maybe we’ve got a little bit more than just Kieren. Hopefully as a consequence they’ll all improve.”
Essendon have confirmed mid-season draftee Archer May will make his debut this round against Geelong. He is a 198cm key forward from WAFL club Subiaco.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge revealed they’re exploring a new midfield/half-back role for Tom Liberatore, having dabbled with it against Hawthorn last round.
Beveridge said: “We talked about that with Tom. When you think the coalface, how hard it is, you can’t expect a player like tom to do it as long as he does all the time. We’re looking to lighten to his load a little bit. We’re looking for another layer for Tom.
“If Tom goes to half-back, it gives some flexibility. His priority will still be as a contest stoppage player. We might explore that a little bit more.”
Beveridge has confirmed Sam Darcy will return this round following a knee injury. He said: “Sam is ready to go. He’ll be in the team.
“We’ll blend a little bit of ruck time in there to make sure he’s involved in the game. But he’s an enormous threat (in the forward line) and we saw the way that his early part of the season was evolving and his presence.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon refused to commit to Jackson Macrae returning from a punctured lung when asked on Tuesday. He said: “He’ll train fully today. He’ll be up for selection. We haven’t made any final calls. We’ll have a good look at it.”
Lyon confirmed Mattaes Phillipou won’t play due to a plantaris injury, which he said was on the “minor end”.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was coy on changes but provided an update on James Worpel who is in doubt due to a corked thigh. He said: “James Worpel is still a fitness test. We’re waiting to see on what happens with him.”
Mitchell offered some insight into Sam Butler’s job security too. He said: “We brought in some youth last week. Seamus (Mitchell), Max (Ramsden) and Sam (Butler) all did pretty good jobs and we were pretty pleased with how they went about it. I don’t think it’ll be 5 changes but it won’t be unchanged either.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott flagged more potential debutants, with ruckman Vigo Visentini mounting a good case in the VFL.
Scott said: “I don’t think we’re finished yet either. It’s a really interesting conundrum. We’ve got injuries to similar types of players, but we’ve got other players in the VFL who are knocking on the door of selection. Whether that’s this week or next, I suspect there’ll be more to come.”
