AFL injury & selection news: Jack Billings out for two months with leg fracture
The rocky start in Ross Lyon’s return to the Saints has continued with a new star joining Max King on the sidelines for an extended period.
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St Kilda has been dealt yet another injury blow, with midfielder Jack Billings set to be sidelined for up to two months with a fractured right leg.
Billings suffered the injury during a practice match against Melbourne at Moorabbin on Friday night, with scans on Saturday confirming a hairline fracture to his fibula.
The match had been the 27-year-old’s first competitive hitout since Round 19 last year, after he missed the end of last season with a back injury which required surgery.
“This is clearly a big blow for Jack, who has worked hard over the summer to re-join the group, recently completing a great month of training,” acting St Kilda football boss David Misson said.
“Despite the setback, we know Jack will attack his rehab to return to the field as soon as possible.
“For now, we’ll be doing everything we can to support him through this latest injury.”
Billings averaged 17 disposals and 5.8 marks across eight AFL games last season.
St Kilda has a growing injury list, with a host of players set to miss the start of the season including Max King (shoulder), Jack Hayes (foot), Zak Jones (Achilles), Matthew Allison (foot) and draftee Olli Hotton (back).
Forward Tim Membrey will be racing the clock to be fit for Round 1 after recently undergoing minor knee surgery.
The Saints are set to tackle Essendon in another pre-season match next Friday.
GEELONG’S KEY FORWARD STOCKS TAKE ANOTHER PRE-SEASON HIT
The man who shaped as a replacement for Tom Hawkins has suffered a foot injury of his own in a potential blow to Geelong’s Round 1 preparations.
Cats swingman Jack Henry will be assessed over coming days after hurting the same foot which saw him sidelined for seven matches last season.
Henry was pulled out of the Cats’ practice match against Hawthorn at halftime, with the club saying they had taken a conservative approach to the injury scare after he landed awkwardly in a marking contest and experienced some discomfort.
Henry had spent the first two quarters of the game at GMHBA Stadium playing in the same forward line as his younger brother Ollie, after primarily featuring as a key defender across 17 senior games last season.
If he is cleared of any injury concern, Henry would be in the frame to fill a role in attack in Round 1 in the absence of star forward Hawkins, who will miss the start of the season with his own foot injury.
Henry had kicked two goals in the first half of the scratch match as a second tall option to Jeremy Cameron.
“He’s had success there before,” Geelong assistant coach James Kelly said of Henry’s foray forward.
“We want to be a team that functions well as a group and everyone understands the system. So if that’s a lever that we want to pull early in the year, it’s not the first time Jack’s done it.
“We’ve given him a bit of time at training and a bit of time in this game so he feels comfortable if we decide to go that way.”
In his first game in Cats’ colours, younger brother Ollie starred with four goals playing forward across all four quarters of the match.
“He’s a dangerous player,” Kelly said of the younger Henry.
“We recruited him for a reason. He’s a really good player and he just fits in really well with our system. Whether he played deeper or higher, he had an impact on the game so it was good for him.”
The young Hawks got through the match unscathed, aside from a hit to their confidence after an 85-point defeat to the reigning premiers.
“There are a lot of learnings to take out of it,” Hawthorn assistant coach Kade Simpson said.
“They’re the benchmark. We knew that coming in. So it’s a good experience for our young players to see what the best looks like and where we need to get to.”
The Hawks expect to welcome back a pair of star players for next week’s official pre-season match against Collingwood in Launceston.
Rebounding defender Changkuoth Jiath and veteran small forward Luke Breust are both itching to return after being managed for the clash with the Cats, while recruit Cooper Stephens could also come into the mix after missing Thursday’s match under concussion protocols.
‘LAY OFF’: MANAGER RESPONDS TO STRINGER CRITICS AFTER BLOW
Jon Ralph
Jake Stringer’s manager says the brilliant Essendon mid-forward’s summer training schedule could not be faulted despite the “disheartening” hamstring issue that will likely see him miss round 1.
Robbie D’Orazio said Essendon was happy with Stringer’s workrate and training program across summer, saying it was time to “lay off him” over his physical shape.
Stringer has battled groin, back and now hamstring issues with his latest issue set to delay his season given twin hamstring issues as recently as last year.
But D’Orazio told the Herald Sun that Stringer had put in a power of work over the off-season supervised by the Essendon conditioning experts.
“He has done a lot of work. I was with him yesterday when he found out about it. He was pretty upset but he will get back on the horse. He has worked really hard. I want everyone to know he has done a really hard three or four months of training,” he said at the launch of Stan’s Show Me the Money II documentary.
“They were quite surprised he has done his hamstring because he was two weeks away from being the best he has ever been. He is lighter this year, but it’s a bit deflating that he is going to miss the start of the year, it looks like. Overall we need Jake Stringer in the game. He brings something so special. He can do things a lot of other players can’t. So I think we need to lay off him a bit in that regard.
“He trains really hard and Essendon footy club are really happy with the way he’s training.
If they weren’t happy there would be an issue but they are happy.”
Stringer missed rounds 4 and 5 last year with a hamstring injury and then returned in round 6 but suffered a hamstring tear to the opposite leg which sidelined him until round 13.
The Dons are hopeful Jye Menzie, Alwyn Davey and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti can make strong contributions as small forwards early in the season but Stringer is one of the few true matchwinners at Essendon.
Stringer struck down by hamstring blow
— Rebecca Williams and Ed Bourke
Essendon’s preparations for round one have been dealt a blow with matchwinner Jake Stringer sidelined with a hamstring strain.
The Bombers revealed on Wednesday Stringer would miss the club’s first pre-season hitout against the Gold Coast Suns after he experienced hamstring tightness at the end of the team’s main session on Tuesday.
But scans later confirmed the forward had suffered a hamstring strain in a setback for new coach Brad Scott’s preparations.
The Bombers have not yet put a time frame on his return, but said it was too early for him to be ruled out of calculations for round one.
Essendon faces Hawthorn in the season opener on March 19 at the MCG.
Stringer was absent from the track on Wednesday morning as the Bombers went through light drills ahead of their departure for Queensland.
Stringer moved around the gym at The Hangar but did not join his teammates for the session.
After leaving training with an injury complaint on Tuesday, Stringer looked disappointed.
New Essendon captain Zach Merrett defended Stringer, saying a lack of preparation was not behind his continued injury woes.
“Jake, like every player, has his own program to an extent,” Merrett said.
“He’s a very unique player … him, De Goey, Petracca, these guys that are super explosive and powerful are unique, and at times I’m sure with that explosiveness he has injuries that will pop up.
“We just want him to get back to that explosiveness and impact on the scoreboard and forward of centre.”
Merrett spoke for the first time after his appointment as Essendon skipper on Tuesday, saying his surprise leadership group demotion in 2020 had ended up playing a crucial part in his ascension to the role.
After he was promoted to Essendon’s leadership group in only his third season and led the club in two games during the same year, Merrett suggested he may have come to be viewed as out of touch by some of his teammates.
“Being in a leadership group at 20 – (players) get pulled apart in a lot of ways in meetings formally all the time, and guys probably didn’t want to say things around me,” he said.
“I think (2020) was unique in a number of ways – being in a hub, being out of the leadership group was a great opportunity.
“I spent three months with teammates I probably hadn’t spent time with before.”
Merrett said spending the season without the additional responsibilities had allowed him to show his teammates his true colours.
“For three months I was able to have coffees, informal chats, corridor chats … I was just able to sit by the pool on the Gold Coast and have chats about footy and life,” he said.
“That was a great opportunity to learn, and looking back now it was probably a great asset for me.
“I opened up a little more and gave those guys more of an into me, and in turn those guys opened up to me as well.”
INJURY CLOUD HANGS OVER STRINGER AFTER TRAINING SCARE
– Jon Ralph, Harper Sercombe
Jake Stringer’s availability for Essendon’s pre-season clash against Gold Coast is in doubt after he left training early on Tuesday in his latest setback in an interrupted summer.
Essendon will fly out on Wednesday with as many as 35 players for that Thursday afternoon contest, which will feature expanded squads and six periods of 25 minutes.
The Dons will select Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Harrison Jones in that squad after the pair of forwards were able to impress on the training track in recent weeks after slow starts to the summer.
But Essendon will need to assess Stringer after he came off late in Essendon’s session at Tullamarine.
The Dons hope that move was only precautionary but will need to decide whether they power ahead with his preparation or ease him off ahead of the final pre-season game against St Kilda on Friday March 3.
Essendon had warned their players they needed to return to the pre-season in elite shape after a football department review.
But Stringer was hampered by an ongoing groin injury pre-Christmas and after returning to full training in January battled a stiff back.
While he played three quarters in last Thursday’s intra-club match he was quiet in the forward line before taking some centre bounces.
The club’s clash against Gold Coast will allow Brad Scott to work through some of his selection issues, with Peter Wright and Sam Weideman getting valuable time together after their own injury issues.
Wright battled a recent calf complaint and Weideman has been restricted by a quad complaint.
Essendon is thrilled with the continued progress of mid-season selections Nic Martin, Sam Durham, Jye Menzie and Massimo D’Ambrosio.
But with the back six seemingly set, former captain Dyson Heppell will need to perform strongly on the wing to lock in his round 1 spot against Hawthorn.
JONES ACHILLES ISSUE
St Kilda is likely to be without tough nut Zak Jones for next month’s season-opener due to an achilles issue.
Jones has managed a calf strain during pre-season and the latest setback has delayed his return to full training.
The 27-year-old is expected to miss just the first match, which is against Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on March 19.
“Zak has faced a frustrating pre-season with injury to-date, but we’re backing him in to attack his rehab and make himself available after our match with Fremantle,” St Kilda’s acting football operations manager David Misson said.
Forward Tim Membrey is tipped to be available as he recovers from minor knee surgery a week ago.
Misson said Membrey had pulled up well from the procedure and was not experiencing swelling around his knee.
Key forwards Max King (shoulder), Jack Hayes (foot) and Isaac Keeler (knee) are expected to be sidelined until after round 6.
Keeler has continued to build his running loads after a tendon strain last January, while Hayes has taken part in light strength work as he closes in on a return in the coming weeks.
King will be eased into contact training within a month.
Matthew Allison (foot) will be out until at least the bye.
Ruckman Tom Campbell has overcome an achilles issue in time for Friday’s trial match against Melbourne.
INJURY WATCH: SUPERCOACH GUN’S PRE-SEASON DERAILED
Chris Cavanagh
Gold Coast remains confident that gun midfielder Touk Miller will be fit for round 1, despite the star being set to miss both of the club’s practice matches with a hamstring injury.
The Suns confirmed on Tuesday that Miller had suffered a low-grade hamstring strain last week, in a setback for his preparations ahead of the home-and-away season.
“Touk felt some discomfort in his hamstring on Friday and on assessment, has a mild hamstring injury,” Gold Coast head physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said.
“Touk will reintegrate into full training over the next couple of weeks leading into the start of the season.”
Miller, who turns 27 on Wednesday, won his third best-and-fairest award with the Suns last season while also earning All-Australian honours for a second successive year.
In addition, he finished third in the 2022 Brownlow Medal count – just two votes behind winner Patrick Cripps – after averaging 28.5 disposals and 7.9 clearances across 22 games.
A consistent performer, Miller is a popular pick in KFC SuperCoach and has already been selected in more than 30 per cent of teams for 2023.
Suns wingman Brandon Ellis (calf) will also miss both of the club’s practice matches but remains in the frame to play round 1, as does defender Will Powell (hamstring), who is building his running.
Defender Lachie Weller (ACL) will miss the “early rounds” of the season but has integrated back into full training, while fellow backman Connor Budarick (ACL) remains on track for a mid-season return.
Injured Magpie back on track
Collingwood ruckman Darcy Cameron is on track to face Carlton on Friday after sitting out last week’s intra-club practice match.
Cameron completed an individual running program on the sidelines last Friday as teammates battled it out at Olympic Park, having been carefully managed in recent weeks following a slight hamstring issue earlier this month.
However, the 27-year-old trained fully on Monday morning as he ramps up his preparation for round 1.
While he will be closely monitored throughout the week, the Magpies are hopeful that Cameron will be fit to face the Blues in the club’s first practice match at Ikon Park on Friday morning.
Following the departure of Brodie Grundy over the off-season, Cameron is expected to be the Magpies’ No. 1 ruckman this year.
He played 24 games last season, averaging 13 disposals, 17.6 hit-outs and 0.8 goals.
Collingwood forward Nathan Kreuger again sat out main training on Monday as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery, completing some running on his own before finishing the session on an exercise bike.
Second-year midfielder Harvey Harrison is still completing an individual running program, while defender Charlie Dean (fractured foot) has been placed on the inactive list as a long-term injury.
Former Dee’s cruel pre-season blow
– Jon Ralph
GWS forward Toby Bedford will miss the first month of the AFL season after a hamstring tendon injury ruined a brilliant summer of training with his new club.
Bedford had set a number of personal best marks in pre-season time trials after making the move from Melbourne, but suffered a hamstring injury in last Friday’s intra-club match.
Coach Adam Kingsley told the Herald Sun on Monday Bedford could miss the early rounds as he met with specialists in Melbourne to assess his next steps.
Bedford will not need surgery on the injury but will still miss around eight weeks, with Brent Daniels also dealing with a minor hamstring injury but likely to recover by round 1.
The Giants will miss new captain Toby Greene (tight calf) in their next intra-club hitout but he is expected to be fit to take on Gold Coast in the club’s March 4 clash – their only official hitout before round 1.
“Toby has really hurt his hamstring,” Kingsley said.
“So he’s going to be out for probably a month at the start of the season. Brent’s hamstring is a really minor one and a different area to the issues he had last year. He is pushing for round 1, so we will just assess that.”
The Giants hoped the trio of small and medium-sized forwards could make an immediate impact but Bedford’s GWS debut will have to wait.
Despite the setback, the Giants are in an excellent position to rise up the ladder given few other players on the injury list.
Star flanker Lachie Whitfield had ankle surgery before Christmas on an issue that hampered him for most of the 2022 season.
He has been in the rehab group over summer but impressed in last Friday’s intra-club.
Intercept defender Nick Haynes has also had a superb summer after battling niggling injuries that hampered his 2022 season.
His sizeable back-ended salary for the next two seasons saw him floated as potential trade bait by rival clubs but Kingsley has big plans for the 30-year-old.
“He certainly wasn’t part of any trade debate that I was in,” Kingsley said.
“He had some issues as I understand it last year with his body. He couldn’t quite get up and going, which he feels like he’s got on top of now.
“And his summer has been really good. He’s been really pleased with how he’s going based on his previous years, he thinks he’s had the best pre-season he has had for a long, long time and clearly reads the game well.
“Hopefully he can get back to being the player he was a couple of years ago as one of the most dominant half backs being able to intercept-mark the ball. He was wonderful and that’s what we are aspiring for him to become again.”
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