Stay up to date throughout Round 18 with our rolling injury report from the coaches post-game. With the nine-game round extending from Thursday night through until Sunday, these snippets of info will be key.
Carlton vs Brisbane Lions
Orazio Fantasia was subbed out with a hamstring injury, while Mitch McGovern exited the game with hamstring awareness. Carlton coach Michael Voss said: “He (McGovern) had some awareness, but it was like in the last five minutes. So it was probably more just, you know, what’s the point of putting him back out there? So we’re more cautious. But like all these, I always tend to hold that opinion until we get the scans back on Monday.”
Brisbane lost Noah Answerth to a season-ending Achilles injury. Lions coach Chris Fagan said: “Yeah, it’s a bad injury. I think he’s ruptured his Achilles. I’m no medical expert but I think they’re usually around about a nine-month recovery from surgery, which is such a pity.”
Gold Coast vs Collingwood
Gold Coast lost onballer Touk Miller in the second quarter to a hamstring injury. Suns coach Damien Hardwick said: “That was a significant loss for us. We don’t know how bad it is. Obviously he’ll have scans in the next couple of days. Hamstring, what level we’re not too sure. We’ll put that out once we get it. He’s had a wonderful year, so hopefully it’s on the short term of the spectrum.”
Nick Daicos was in the wars, tweaking his ankle and copping a big hit from Connor Budarick, forcing coach Craig McRae to shuffle his role.
McRae said: “[Nick] looked sore, didn’t he?. I was watching him run and watching it on the tape, and I’m going, ‘Nick’s not going to the contest like we would love him to, so let’s put Josh in there.’ That was a move that potentially helped us move the needle on the scoreboard… Nick looked a little bit sore at times tonight so if we try to move him around to where he can get the best out of what he delivers, he’ll be better for it.”
The Pies subbed out Jeremy Howe with a groin injury. McRae said: “I’m hearing it’s minor from his mouth and the doctor. But scans will confirm that. But it looks minor.”
Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide
Adelaide subbed out Jordon Butts with reports of a collapsed lung, while Brayden Cook suffered a head knock, forcing him out of the game.
On Butts, Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said: “[The team doctors] assessed him straight away and suspected a collapsed lung. He was shipped straight off to hospital to see the specialist that he needed to. It is a collapsed lung.
“He won’t travel with us now, he’ll spend the night here with the right people around him to make sure that he gets what he needs from this point on. We won’t know anymore until a specialist comes in and checks him up further.”
GWS Giants vs Geelong
Jesse Hogan was subbed out of precaution late on, albeit appearing to have some foot issues in line with a recent game off. Tom Stewart underwent treatment early on but played out the game. Jeremy Cameron battled after he “got a knock to his hip” according to Cats coach Chris Scott.
GWS coach Adam Kingsley praised emerging key forward Aaron Cadman who booted 6 goals. He said: “This has been building for a long while. Now he’s probably getting the rewards for all that effort in terms of goals. But there’s a lot more to his game than just goals at the moment. He’s a really important player to our club and the way that we play.”
Richmond vs Essendon
The Dons lost Nic Martin early to a knee injury, with initial fears it could be the dreaded ACL. Will Setterfield came off in the fourth term and had his foot iced up too.
Dons coach Brad Scott said: “Nic Martin has almost certainly done his ACL, that just sends a shiver down everyone’s spine at quarter-time when that word ripples out. And Setterfield, after losing (Jye) Caldwell to surgery last week, Setterfield looks like he’s got a pretty serious foot injury as well. It’s a tough situation but we just have to find our way through it.”
Essendon have since confirmed season-ending injuries for both players. The Dons’ statement said: “Essendon Football Club has confirmed today an ACL injury to Nic Martin’s right knee and Will Setterfield has suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot… Scans this morning revealed the full extent of the damage, ruling Martin out for the remainder of the 2025 season.”
Scott was also asked about a recall for Vigo Visentini. He said: “He’ll almost certainly come back into the team at some stage this year. He got a really good lesson from Luke Jackson but he also showed that he’s going to play some AFL footy. He’ll get an opportunity at some stage.”
Fremantle vs Hawthorn
Neither side picked up any injuries.
Melbourne vs North Melbourne
Tristan Xerri is set for MRO scrutiny after a swinging arm left Tom Sparrow concussed. Dees coach Simon Goodwin said: “The pleasing thing is he is up and about, but he goes straight into the protocols. We will take no risk with Tom. He will get monitored really closely by our medical team.”
North coach Alastair Clarkson tried to defend Xerri’s action. He said: “It is pretty hard going from competing in the ruck with big Max to then trying to lay a tackle within a split second. It’s unfortunate for Tom, but injuries happen. We had LD [Davies-Uniacke] knocked out last week with an elbow to the head in a contest. It’s swings and roundabouts.”
St Kilda vs Sydney
St Kilda small forward Dan Butler suffered a dislocated elbow. Saints coach Ross Lyon said “at least a month, could be the season”.
Lyon spoke about debutant Max Heath’s game. He said: “I think he competed in the air. I think his good was good and he’d have some moments where he thinks league footy is tough and I’ll have to improve that, they were costly. He’s a model of possibility and persistence. He created an opportunity.”
Swans defender Tom McCartin was subbed out after concussion fears following a head knock in a clash with debutant Max Heath. Sydney coach Dean Cox said: “You just ruled (him) out of the game with symptoms and entered straight into protocols. So, he’s okay. Now we’ll assess him in the next couple of days.”
Port Adelaide vs West Coast
Port subbed out Connor Rozee with a finger/hand injury. Power coach Ken Hinkley said: “He’s got a sore hand, I think a dislocated finger. It was like, ‘We’re not quite sure how this is looking, we’ll take some necessary action here and take him out of the game based on (the fact) he’s too important to us for not just today but for the long term and we’ll look after him.’
“We weren’t flying so we probably would’ve loved to have kept him out there, but the right thing to do was take him out. We’ll get a scan, see what it looks like, whether there’s a crack or not in the hand, we won’t know until we get that.”
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter praised rookie Jobe Shanahan who impressed again. He said: “We’re really excited for what Jobe can do. 18-year-old key forwards don’t have much impact in this competition. We’re seeing that from him already. You’ve seen the trust, we’ll put him behind the ball at times if the game needs it.” Liam Ryan was a late out due to soreness but McQualter said he should be fine for next weekend.
