Essendon young gun Archie Roberts could be back playing AFL footy in a fortnight, according to Bombers interim coach Dean Solomon who says he’s “progressing really well”.
Roberts’ season seemed over after dislocating his shoulder a fortnight ago but the Dons opted against surgery, giving him a chance of a short-term return.
Solomon said: “The medical staff were really confident that he can be back in a couple of weeks’ time. They spoke with Archie as well, and he’s really keen to push to play this year. That’s been the discussion so far. He’s progressing really well. He’s ahead of time. We expect to see him in the next couple of weeks.
“It’s a really important second half of the year for us to finish really well. If he was in any danger, if there’s any long-term stuff, we’d never put him at risk; it’s always player first. But in discussions with the medical staff and himself, they want to push that way, so we’re keen to support that.”
Mid-Season Draft pick 1 Jaxon Artemis will need to wait for his AFL debut. Solomon said: “He’s tracking well. He played VFL two weeks ago. We saw a little glimpses of what he’s capable of.
“We do feel like he needs another week or two to find his feet at this level, but he’s contributing well. He’s fitting in well. He’s connected with the playing group, and we’ll continue to watch him and assess him really closely.”
The Dons coach confirmed Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell and Andy McGrath will all return from injury, pending getting through training on Thursday. Solomon also clarified that they’ll persist with Zach Merrett off half-back.
Solomon said: “At this point in time we are (planning to keep him at half-back). We’ve got flexibility too in the way we play. We just want to drive a bit more ball forward, so we’re just shifting some of our ball movement stuff, so we’ll stick with Zach at half-back at this point in time. But within game, we’ve got the flexibility so he can come and support our midfield.”
West Coast named Harvey Johnston and Tom Gross in their WAFL side for the weekend’s game, so both will drop out of the AFL team, likely opening the door for Jack Graham, but also potentially Willem Duursma and Tom McCarthy following injury.
Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said all three, along with Jack Hutchinson, were “available” for selection this week.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae revealed Scott Pendlebury is likely their only change. He said:
“Pendles will play. He may be the only change at this stage.”
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Ben Somerford
