Indigenous All Stars clash: Darren Burgess allays injury fears, Kozzie Pickett cleared to play
High performance guru Darren Burgess has promised clubs their stars will be looked after in the Indigenous All Stars clash, while the AFL has decided if Kozzie Pickett can play despite being suspended.
AFL
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High performance guru Darren Burgess says clubs can be comfortable in letting their players be part of the Indigenous All Stars team with ensuring they return to their clubs in good shape his number one priority.
The highly regarded Adelaide high performance specialist has been appointed as the high performance manager for the All Stars’ clash against Fremantle on February 15.
Burgess joins Port Adelaide’s Jason Williams, the Dockers’ Roger Hayden, North Melbourne’s Jarrod Lienert and West Coast’s Chance Bateman in supporting the Kangaroos’ Xavier Clarke as head coach.
“I can’t wait to get over there and if anything just sit on the sidelines and watch the show that the players are undoubtedly going to put on,” he said.
In his role Burgess will work closely with the high performance managers of each club.
He said this would help allay any concerns club’s might have about letting their players take part in the game.
“I’m in the process of reaching out to all the fellow high performance managers at the clubs and outlining the training schedule, the recovery option, the strength options, the staff we have and that allows them to come and say “my player needs something here, likes to do this there or needs some extra work there”,” he said.
“The way the AFL has set up the two days leading up to the game and the staff involved has been phenomenal so the players will have the very best of care.
“And each club will have the opportunity to say “my player should only play these minutes”, all the players are going to be monitored so if they say this player can only do this amount of sprint distance and time on ground we have that covered.
“We try to allay the fears as best we can and so far I think we are doing a good job at it.”
So far 11 players have been announced as taking part in the game including Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett and Crows gun Izak Rankine.
That number is set to be as high as 30 come February 15, and Burgess said deciding who gets what gametime during the match would probably be his hardest task.
“I guess there are a couple of responsibilities, one is I have a responsibility to the other clubs who are having their players and mostly their star players coming over to Perth,” he said.
“So the number one is to look after the players so they can return back to their clubs in good shape.
“But to also coordinate the weekend and the training leading up to it with the coaches, which we have already started doing to make sure the players are in the best shape to play.
“And then on game day probably the hardest job is going to be we are probably going to have somewhere between 26 to 30 players so to maintain the game time of those players is going to be tough because they will all want to be out there and put on a show.
“That is probably going to be the hardest job of the lot having to manage the game time of a large group of players.”
Laura Kane, the executive general manager football at the AFL, said Burgess’ involvement would help to “ensure this program is run in line with the expectations of the players’ clubs” ahead of the season.
“Since we announced the match, the buy-in from the clubs, players and coaches, has been exceptional and we were inundated with applications for the various roles within the program,” she said.
The full Indigenous All-Stars squad is set to be announced shortly.
The Indigenous All Stars will take on Fremantle on February 15 at Optus Stadium from 7.30pm AEDT, live on Fox Footy and streaming via Kayo.
PICKETT CLEARED TO PLAY DESPITE SUSPENSION
– Glenn McFarlane
Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett has been cleared to play in the Indigenous All-Stars clash with Fremantle on February 15.
The AFL confirmed on Thursday that the livewire midfielder/forward is eligible to take on the Dockers at Perth Stadium, despite having a three-game suspension hanging over his head for his bump on Magpie captain Darcy Moore from last year’s final round.
Next month’s clash is deemed an exhibition match, which means Pickett can play, and the 23-year-old is understood to be desperate to don the All-Stars guernsey for the first time.
Pickett has overcome a recent leg infection, which threatened to derail his hopes of playing for the All-Stars, but he is now back in full training.
Barring any mishaps across the next fortnight, he seems certain to play for the Indigenous All-Stars.
The AFL’s clarification came after the NRL’s controversial decision to allow Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr to use that code’s All-Stars clash as part of their respective suspensions.
Mitchell will be free to play in South Sydney’s round one game against the Dolphins, with the star fullback to serve his one-match ban in the All Stars clash instead.
Pickett was one of the first players named in the All-Stars’ initial squad, with full details of the team likely to come early next week.
He was sidelined briefly with a leg infection but returned to full training last Friday and hasn’t missed a beat since.
This year marks the first time the Indigenous All-Stars have played against an AFL side in a decade, with Pickett keen to line up alongside the likes of Bobby and Brad Hill, Charlie Cameron, Shai Bolton and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.
Pickett is contracted to the Demons until the end of the 2027 season but has been linked to the Dockers after reports he liked a social media post about the club’s interest in him.
Originally published as Indigenous All Stars clash: Darren Burgess allays injury fears, Kozzie Pickett cleared to play
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