AFL 2022: Latest injury news and updates leading into round 7
Essendon will run down the clock to get an injured Bomber crucial to its chances against Western Bulldogs up for the clash, but another big-name Don has again ran into difficulties. Latest injury news.
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Star Essendon on-baller Darcy Parish will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness for Sunday’s crunch clash with the Western Bulldogs after positive news on his injured ankle.
Essendon coach Ben Rutten revealed the club feared Parish may have suffered the same injury that sidelined teammate Zach Merrett for three games after hurting himself in the Anzac Day loss to Collingwood.
But the positive scan results, with Parish also out of a moon boot and running on Friday, leaves the door open for the 1-5 Bombers to include the ball magnet against the Bulldogs.
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“He’s still a big ginger but every day he’s getting better,” Rutten said on Friday, putting defender Jayden Laverde in the same boat after he suffered a knock against the Magpies.
Parish blasted out of the blocks on Anzac Day, racking up 30 first-half disposals, and while some questioned the All-Australian’s impact, Rutten said there was no question what he brought to his team having steeled himself to contribute after the Bombers’ second-half fade out the previous week against Fremantle.
“I was really pleased with his whole week last week. The first centre clearance he copped a big bump, won the clearance, it was a really good sign, he had a really challenging week,” Rutten said.
“The way he took ownership, he was really honest in his reflection and built a plan to be better.
“I thought Darcy had a really strong game. He had great impact around the ball, some of his use in tight and his handball was great.
“I don’t get too carried away with the numbers game, it’s important he does what he needs to for the team and the midfield group.”
Rutten said 202cm Zach Reid, taken at pick 10 by the Bombers in the 2020 draft, was closing in on playing his second senior game after impressing in the VFL in recent weeks having endured some injury setbacks.
“The last couple of weeks have been really about him getting back and playing some good footy … seeing some of his movements and some of his contest work and intercept marking,” Rutten said.
“He’s doing a lot right, and he’s going to be well and truly in for selection this week.”
But 2018 best-and-fairest winner Devon Smith remains out of the senior side and “working on aspects of his game” to get back in having fallen out of form and favour amid Essendon’s struggles in 2022.
“He is (too good to be out of the side). Devon at his best, he is absolutely in our team,” Rutten said.
“I’ve been talking with Dev for a few weeks, having some really good conversations about how we can get him back to his best. He’s working on a couple of aspects of his game that will help him improve his ability to do what we need him to do.”
An AFL return for livewire forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has also been delayed even further after he was put into health and safety protocols and he won’t play in the VFL this week.
McDonald-Tipungwuti hasn’t played AFL this season after battling some off-field issues and Rutten said he wouldn’t return to the senior side until they felt he would be at his absolute best.
“Unfortunately, he’s going to be away for a week or so. We’ll need to work our way back from that,” he said.
“We want to build some momentum with him. We want to set him up to be successful when he returns.”
De Goey ill as star Blues recruit ruled out
Carlton has suffered a setback with midfielder George Hewett ruled out of Saturday night’s clash with North Melbourne as Collingwood pair Jordan De Goey and Will Hoskin-Elliott missed training on Friday morning.
Hewett has been one of the Blues’ shining lights so far this season but a corked calf sees him on the sidelines for at least a week, despite the club selecting him in the side on Thursday night.
It paves the way for Jack Carroll to make his debut for Carlton. The 19-year-old was drafted by the Blues as pick 41 in the 2020 draft.
Hewett has not missed a game for the Blues since joining the club from Sydney. While he was initially selected in the team to play the Kangaroos, he was seen limping at the club earlier in the week and was always considered a doubtful starter.
De Goey and Hoskin-Elliott did not train for the Magpies on Friday morning due to gastro, with the club stressing it was NOT Covid-related.
The club remains hopeful they will be right to take on Gold Coast at the MCG on Sunday.
Gawn fears scrapping bounce would put rucks at risk
Melbourne ruck star Max Gawn has defended the AFL’s centre bounce after calls for it to be scrapped following a spate of PCL injuries to leading ruckmen, saying the variables it brings offered more protection than a throw-up.
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury suggested this week the AFL should consider getting rid of the centre bounce after his teammate Brodie Grundy and Carlton’s Marc Pittonet both suffered PCL injuries in centre bounce collisions last weekend.
But Gawn, Melbourne’s premiership and All-Australian ruckman, said he had never had any issues with his PCL in centre bounce ruck contests.
The Demons captain said he was a fan of the bounce from both a historical point of view and for the variability it brought to the ruck contest, which he suggested gave more protection than when the umpire tossed up the ball.
“I can only go off my history and my PCL has been fine in every angle ruck contest I have been involved in,” Gawn said on SEN.
“In saying that, I’m touching a lot of wood at the moment that it stays like that.
“But from my point of view, I am relatively comfortable with where the rules are in terms of the circle and they are trying to protect the rucks as much as they can.
“I’m a bounce fan. I think the bounce brings in some variables that almost protects your PCL but also gives you a chance against an incredible jumper …. the likes of Nic Nat and Majak Daw that we have at training.
“If you have bounce and variable bounce, it goes to different parts of the circle, you can protect yourself a little bit more. Where if they throw it up that is almost a perfect three metre throw where you are both doing a one, two, three step jump and bang straight into each other.
“From a protection point of view, I’m a big bounce man, from a ‘I love the game and I love the history of the game’ I’m also a bounce man from that point of view as well.”
Grundy and Pittonet will join Nic Naitanui on the sidelines for an extended period after incidents last weekend.
Assessing the injuries to Grundy and Pittonet, Gawn described the Grundy incident as a “freak” occurrence but the way the Carlton big man was injured was more of a concern.
“If we look at the two PCL incidents from the weekend, I think we shouldn’t react to that – that looks like a freak of nature type incident,” Gawn said.
“I have never seen a PCL sort of go like that when Brodie was higher than actual (Sam) Draper in that ruck contest.
“The Pittonet and (Sean) Darcy is probably the more concerning one. That’s the one if I have lost two or three centre bounces in a row, I am doing what Pittonet and Darcy do, I am cracking in as hard as I can to make sure I win that hit.
“That looks like the one that we are all getting concerned about. But to be fair, that is the only one. I don’t know much about Nic Nat and Tom Hickey but I’m pretty sure they weren’t from impact in their PCLs at centre bounces so we are just looking at that Marc Pittonet one really.”
RUCK BLOW ADDS TO STRUGGLING NORTH’S WOES
North Melbourne has suffered a ruck blow with Tristan Xerri ruled out for four weeks with a hot spot in his foot.
The Kangaroos confirmed on Thursday morning Xerri would be sidelined for the next month after the injury was discovered this week.
The club said Xerri had avoided the worst case scenario with no fracture detected in the foot.
It is an unfortunate blow for the 23-year-old, who has played every game for the Kangaroos this season and moved to establish himself in the No.1 ruck role.
“It’s unfortunate timing for Tristan. He’s done a power of work to cement himself in the team,” North Melbourne’s general manager of football performance Dan McPherson said.
“The positive here is the foot issue has been detected early and there is no sign of a fracture.
“Tristan will work closely with our medical team on his rehab program, and we’re hopeful he will be available for selection in a month’s time.”
The injury is an equally big blow for bottom-placed North Melbourne, which has managed just the one win this season - against a depleted West Coast Eagles.
North Melbourne faces Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
North midfielder Jaidyn Stephenson is expected to be available for selection after missing last week’s clash against Geelong with illness.
Defender Ben McKay will miss the clash against the Blues - and his twin Harry - after copping a one-week rough conduct ban against the Cats.
Xerri’s setback continues a bad week on the injury front for the league’s ruckmen after Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy and Carlton’s Marc Pittonet both suffered PCL injuries last weekend.
‘Don’t ram’: Doc warns rucks as Pendles floats big change
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury says the AFL should consider scrapping the centre bounce after a spate of PCL injuries to ruckmen as sports medicine expert Dr Peter Larkins warned players had a duty of care not to “ram” their opponent in ruck contests.
Following a recent string of PCL injuries to Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy, Carlton’s Marc Pittonet and West Coast’s Nic Naitanui, the Magpies skipper suggested the radical rule change in a bid to curb the knee injury threat.
With the PCL injuries from ruck, is it time to look at the CB and changing it?
— Scott Pendlebury (@SP_10) April 26, 2022
Dr Larkins said he was not surprised at the number of recent PCL injuries, saying it had been an issue “coming” for some time as he observed ruckmen reverting to their “old ways”.
But Dr Larkins said the duty of care was on the players to improve their technique rather than injuries forcing another rule change.
Grundy and Pittonet will join Naitanui on the sidelines for an extended period after incidents last weekend that came from centre bounce collisions.
Pendlebury tweeted early on Wednesday: “With the PCL injuries from ruck, is it time to look at the CB (centre bounce) and changing it?”
Dual North Melbourne premiership ruckman Corey McKernan told the Herald Sun on Sunday he was increasingly concerned ruckmen were using their knees as battering rams as they took their eyes off the ball in ruck contests.
Dr Larkins believed the issue was more to do with technique and the injuries in ruck contests were preventable if players didn’t “try to knee” the opposition player.
“It shouldn’t happen if players don’t try to ram the opposition’s ruckmen,” Dr Larkins said.
“My point is why are they are still rucking like that when the rule was brought in to protect them?
“The rule change was directed so that you couldn’t get a lot of momentum running at the opposition player, you have got to start in the circle.
“So I don’t know what the AFL can do more, it’s more the players. The players have go to have a duty of care to themselves.
“We talk about duty of care for the players (with) head over the ball and that sort of stuff and concussion and sling tackles so that’s duty of care to the opposition player.
“But duty of care to yourself when you are rucking in that centre (circle), you jump, but you don’t try to knee in the ribs of the opposition player.
“When they do it to each other, the other one has got to do it to defend himself. I think it’s more technique and education for the players rather than a rule change for the AFL.
“It’s a rucking technique. You can jump vertically without raising your knee into the opposition player.
“If they don’t hit anybody they are not going to hurt their knees.”
While not pushing for such a change, Dr Larkins said a rule penalising ruckmen raising the knee would be one way to stop the PCL carnage.
“They (could) get really draconian and make a rule that if you raise your knee in a ruck contest you get a free against you,” Dr Larkins said.
“Imagine if we brought in a rule to protect them to say if you raise your knee, it’s a free kick against you.
“I’m not suggesting that by the way but if you said to me ‘Is there any rule changes … that would stop it happening?’, that’s the rule change’”
Calling it the “poor cousin of the ACL”, Dr Larkins said PCL injuries often caused “symptoms for life” and was not an injury that goes “away completely”.
Following McKernan’s concerns, Dr Larkins said he feared PCL issues would surface.
“I think it was coming because I have been observing – without them making the headlines – I a number of incidents watching games where I have seen players do it and thinking it’s one day going to happen to a PCL,” Dr Larkins said.
“It’s not surprising that it has happened because players have gone back to their old ways for want of a better term.”
Pendlebury’s and Dr Larkins’ comments come as Magpie midfield Taylor Adams and former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley conceded replacing Grundy for an extended period would be a tough ask for the club.
Buckley said on SEN: “When you wrap that (Grundy’s injury) with Nathan Kreuger, it’s a massive challenge.”
“Darcy Cameron is a more than proficient ruckman … he is a better ruckman than he is as a forward.
“He has been playing as the second ruck behind Brodie, but there have been times when his ruck form has been better than Brodie’s in the last 18 months or two years.
“I think that we will see him come of age. The football community will see something in Darcy Cameron that has always been there, but we haven’t been exposed to.
“Obviously, Mason Cox comes back into the frame as a tall forward … there are not a lot of options there, if you miss another one, you are playing quite small.”
Adams said he cannot remember a game that he has played for Collingwood without Grundy, but said the Magpies would make the best of a bad situation.
“It’s going to be weird,” Adams said on RSN. “I don’t think I have ever played a game without Brodie … he doesn’t miss much footy.”
“It’s a real shame to see him going down. It clearly provides an opportunity for other blokes. We’ve got Darcy Cameron there and Mason Cox and Aiden Begg, who has improved more than anyone I have ever seen in his training.
“Brodes will play a role for us off the field. He’s been doing a lot of work with Aiden Begg and no doubt he will continue to do that.
“But at this point any injury is a real shame. It will leave a pretty big hole to fill.”
How Blues, Pies will overcome ruck misery
Carlton and Collingwood will be forced to turn to an exciting young colt and an American Pie as they attempt to retain finals spots despite three-month injuries to their star ruckmen.
Carlton’s in-form big man Marc Pittonet and Collingwood’s million-dollar star Brodie Grundy will both miss between 10-12 weeks after injuring their posterior cruciate ligaments in separate incidents.
The Blues have long held high hopes for ruck back-up Tom de Koning and even knocked back first-round offers for the rangy left-footed tall.
Carlton must defeat last-placed North Melbourne this weekend to shore up its spot in the eight, with Harry McKay (knee) no certainty to take his spot in the side.
De Koning has played only 27 AFL games but at 22 has the athletic gifts and potential to step up in the absence of tap ruckman Pittonet.
Collingwood’s dual injury setback with Grundy and Nathan Kreuger (shoulder reconstruction) after their rousing Anzac Day victory gives them fewer options.
Cox was banished to the VFL after a poor round 5 showing and while Darcy Cameron will take first ruck duties the out-of-contract American will surely be called upon in the next few weeks.
The Pies could consider Trent Bianco (five goals) and Ollie Henry (2.2) to fill the forward void but at 3-3 are also precariously poised in eighth spot.
Pies fans will remember that a PCL sprain dulled the effectiveness of their No.1 draft pick Josh Fraser.
Grundy still has five more seasons left on a $1 million-a-season deal.
Collingwood football boss Graham Wright did not confirm the length of time Grundy would be out but said the club would update his prognosis in coming days.
“We are all disappointed for Brodie. While he is a key member of our team and will be missed, out of adversity comes opportunity for other members of the squad to play a role during this time,” Wright said.
“We know Brodie will be dedicated to his rehabilitation and will continue to remain involved with the team as he recovers.”
Collingwood takes on Gold Coast at the MCG on Sunday and the Suns are being led by in-form ruckman Jarrod Witts — a former Pies tall who has thrived on the Queensland coast.
Blues midfielder Matt Kennedy will return against North Melbourne and Jack Silvagni is a test to resume from an ankle sprain.
“The injury is obviously a significant one and will sideline Marc for an extended period of time, which is unfortunate given the amount of work he put in throughout the entire summer and we were really starting to see the results of during the early parts of the season,” Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd said.
“For now it’s about supporting Marc through his recovery, as he approaches his rehab with a focus to be available later in the season.”
Dual North Melbourne ruckman Corey McKernan told the Herald Sun on Sunday he was concerned about ruckmen using their knees as battering rams as they took their eyes of the ball in ruck contests.
The number of PCL sprains has diminished since the AFL introduced a centre circle but Pittonet and Sean Darcy both had their eyes on each other as they leapt at the ruck contest.
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Oh. Crap. Ola. Brodie Grundy has suffered a major knee injury and could miss months. Yeah we’re cooked now. Absolutely cooked. Couldn’t have asked for worse. #gopies
— Rory Burnside (@RoryBurnside) April 26, 2022
Originally published as AFL 2022: Latest injury news and updates leading into round 7
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