AFL round 21: All the latest injury news across the AFL
Richmond will have some big inclusions for Sunday’s clash against St Kilda, while a Collingwood defender is a chance to play against Geelong.
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Richmond superstar Dustin Martin and veteran Trent Cotchin will make their returns against St Kilda on Sunday as part of the Tigers’ last-ditch finals bid.
Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy is in line for a shock return against Geelong on Friday night, but the season is over for Melbourne forward Harrison Petty.
Martin and Cotchin missed the Tigers’ blowout loss to Western Bulldogs last weekend with soreness off a short five-day break.
But the Tigers have confirmed the champion duo will take on the Saints this weekend.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae said Murphy, who was diagnosed with a low-level syndesmosis issue after being tackled against Hawthorn, had come up well and would train this week.
The club had feared he would be out for 2-3 weeks and while he might still come up short of playing the Cats, his prognosis is rapidly improved.
“He is a chance to play,” McRae said.
“I don’t know how but he is, he has to get through training tomorrow. He was no chance on Sunday and he’s some chance. Time might be against him, but he’s not so much a 2-3 week (scenario any more).”
Macrae told SEN that even his wife ripped into him for failing to stop James Sicily in the loss to Hawthorn.
“Well, I got home and my wife didn’t go and she said, ‘Any danger of putting someone on Sicily’,” McRae said.
“I said, ‘Honey, we tried’. As a coach you take responsibility for that, we had a few plans and I take full responsibility for that.
“The plans didn’t work and in hindsight I should have been stronger in a few things and it didn’t work, so I take responsibility for it. He tries to play on all sorts of players to get himself available, we didn’t execute what we needed to do and I take responsibility for those things.”
McRae said he was excited by Nick Daicos’s return in the second week of the finals and was optimistic he would play a big part in September.
Daicos said on Monday he had some bone bruising leading into the clash, but McRae was clear that the Pies had taken no risks with their second-year player.
“He is a huge asset for us and he’s going to come back fit and fresh. How exciting is it?” he said.
“It is six-weeks-ish … It will depend on how the bone heals. We are anticipating he runs in the early part of the finals and progresses through to playing.
“Its the first I have heard of (the bone bruising), we manage our players extremely well. We meet twice or three times a week about every player and this time of the year everyone has a little bit of something. The impact injuries, you can’t control those.”
The run home to the finals could also double as a farewell for Cotchin, 33, and spearhead Jack Riewoldt, 34, who are weighing up retirements at season’s end.
Co-captain Dylan Grimes, 32, is a test for this week after he was a late out against the Dogs with a pinched nerve in his neck, while linebreaker Daniel Rioli will have a light week on the track in a bid to recover from a rolled ankle.
The Saints are also desperate for a win as Ross Lyon’s men cling to a spot in the eight after coughing up a halftime lead against Carlton.
Martin, 32, was a surprise omission against the Bulldogs after a dominant first half against Melbourne in round 20.
But the Tigers’ fitness boss Luke Meehan said the triple Norm Smith Medalist was right to go after a weekend off.
“Dustin is such a dynamic and explosive player, but he unfortunately could not get himself going last week, so he was unavailable for selection,” Meehan said.
“The accumulative load of the season and the five-day turnaround at this late part of the year was just a bit too much for him in the end.
“He is in better condition now and will train this week ahead of playing on Sunday.“
Cotchin has overcome some niggles and will replace star onballer Jacob Hopper, who is out with concussion.
Grimes will have to pass a fitness test to play and will look to bolster a defence which conceded nine goals in a horror first-term last week against the Bulldogs.
“Dylan woke up on Friday morning with a stiff neck that was causing him quite a lot of discomfort,” Meehan said.
“We got him scanned and it was apparent he had pinched a nerve in there and that it would be best that he was a late withdrawal from the match.
“Dylan has seen great improvement over the weekend and is in a position now that he can train this week with an eye to returning to the line-up on Sunday.”
Petty will miss the rest of the season after scans on Tuesday confirmed a Lisfranc injury.
“It’s disappointing for the team, disappointing for the club given where we are at with the stage of the season, but look he’ll be a real pro with his rehab like he always is. He’ll get all the support he needs from the footy club,” football manager Alan Richardson said.
What do Dees injuries mean for Grundy?
– Ryan Rosendale
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has stopped sort of guaranteeing a return for Brodie Grundy against Carlton next week in the wake of key tall Harrison Petty’s injury against North Melbourne on Sunday.
Petty was tackled by North’s Ben McKay midway through the third quarter with Goodwin unsure of the damage post-match.
“It’s a bit of a concern for us,” Goodwin said.
“He has a mid-foot injury but we are not 100 per cent sure what it is. Our fingers are crossed but it’s looking like he could be out for a little bit of time so we will get that scanned and make sure we get the full assessment of it but he’s probably unlikely for a little while.”
With Grundy sent back to the VFL to work on his forward craft, Petty’s injury potentially opens the door for the former Collingwood ruckman to return against the Blues but Goodwin wouldn’t confirm if he was a certain starter.
“It’s (Grundy forward) something we’ve been working on,” he said.
“He’s been playing a significant amount of time forward (in the VFL) and has been training with the forward group so it’s something that we will discuss during the week but let’s just take a breath today, regroup and then come up with a plan for next week.”
A big blow for the Dees as Petty limps off with a suspected ankle injury.
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Petty’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time personally for the 23-year-old who backed up his six goals against Richmond last week with another two against the Roos before being subbed out.
Fellow tall Jacob van Rooyen also kicked two on Sunday with Goodwin admitting that while it was frustrating they had to rejig their makeup inside 50 once again, they did have plans in place to do so when required.
“They’ve looked really good together (Petty and van Rooyen),” Goodwin said.
“Most importantly that’s what we’ve been looking for, is how we function together, and he has been a big part of that in the last two or three weeks so it is disappointing and frustrating.
“But we have guys that have been pushing (for selection) and we have plans and contingencies in place for a lot of different roles in our team so we will have a good think about it and come up with a plan of how we attack it moving forward.”
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Originally published as AFL round 21: All the latest injury news across the AFL
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