The early mail is trickling out with updates ahead of Round 20, headlined by Connor Rozee, Tom De Koning, Dan Curtin, Sam Walsh and Will Day.
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley provided an update on Connor Rozee’s chances of playing in Saturday’s Showdown following a hand injury.
Hinkley spoke on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of training in the evening, meaning he couldn’t provide an update on the slated assessment that day.
He said: “We’re training tonight. We expect him to train tonight and see how he goes. If there’s any risk we won’t play him. There’s just no point in putting someone at risk. He’s got a crack in his hand, so it’s pretty significant. He’s hopeful yesterday but that doesn’t mean he’ll get through.”
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Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks heaped praise on young gun Dan Curtin who keeps going from strength to strength.
Nicks said: “Dan is well and truly above his age from a maturity point of view of what he focuses on what he prioritises and that is similar to Daws (Jordan Dawson)… And Dan’s already in a great space when it comes to how he works with his teammates and what he prioritises.
“He’s still got so much more that he’s working through and a lot more in his game that he’s going to improve on. But you need a big moment and you need a player to win a contest? He’s shown that multiple times over the last couple of months.”
Carlton coach Michael Voss wasn’t asked about Tom De Koning’s shoulder problem, but the young ruck was named in their side for Thursday’s clash with Hawthorn, along with the returning Harry McKay.
Voss was asked how they’d operate with De Koning, McKay and Marc Pittonet in the side. He said: “Being able to play ‘Pitto’ and play Tom and both get time in the ruck adds power around the middle of the ground for us.
“We’ve just got to work out what that time looks like, how much they spend on ball v how much they spend forward. We’ve got to get that balance right.”
Voss also provided an update on Sam Walsh’s injury status, having moved to “TBC” this week. He said: “He probably hasn’t progressed to the level we need him to, even though in the last couple of days he has started to get going a bit more. We’ll probably have to make some calls in the next week or two on that.
“The window is closing but we’ll finish off the season as strong as we can, so if that means we get one or two games into him, we’ll be looking for that.”
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell confirmed Will Day would return on Thursday night from a long-term foot injury.
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