AFL teams: All the ins and outs for Round 19

HAWTHORN’s bid to cement its spot in the top eight has received a significant boost with the return of two key players, while the Bulldogs have more injury troubles and the Power have pulled two selection surprises. SEE ALL THE ROUND 19 TEAMS

HAWTHORN’s bid to cement its spot in the top eight has received a significant boost with the return of Shaun Burgoyne and Jaeger O’Meara from injury.

The midfield duo are back for Sunday’s clash against Fremantle at Perth Stadium, a must-win game for the Hawks who currently sit in eighth spot on percentage ahead of Geelong. Burgoyne and O’Meara return at the expense of Daniel Howe (suspended) and Harry Morrison (omitted). TIPS: SEE WHO OUR EXPERTS ARE TIPPING IN ROUND 19 SUPERCOACH: ARE CATS MIDS KEY TO SUCCESS? RATINGS: WHICH COACH IS THE BEST MEDIA PERFORMER? WESTERN Bulldogs welcome back Marcus Bontempelli for its clash against Port Adelaide in Ballarat on Sunday but have lost four players to injury. Defender Roarke Smith joined Tom Boyd (lower back disc), Billy Gowers (ankle soreness) and Luke Dahlhaus (ankle) on the sidelines on Friday after being involved in a car accident. Fletcher Roberts, Patrick Lipinski and debutant Fergus Greene join Bontempelli in the Bulldogs’ final 22. PORT Adelaide, meanwhile have no such injury troubles after Paddy Ryder (hip flexor) and Tom Jonas (knee) completed quicker-than-expected recoveries from injury to be named for Sunday’s clash. Ryder was listed this week as being another 1-2 weeks away from a return, while Jonas (knee) was expected to miss another month. The star ruckman has missed just one match with the injury, while Jonas has missed the last two games. SUPERCOACH: THE KEYS TO SURVIVING FINAL ROUND LATEST TRIAL: SAINTS RULES TRIAL SHOWS AFL ‘WHAT NOT TO DO’ NORTH Melbourne has been strengthened by the return of Mason Wood for its must-win clash against West Coast in Hobart. Wood missed the last three matches with a hamstring injury but returns to partner Ben Brown up forward. The Kangaroos must win to keep in touch with the top eight as Brad Scott’s team is currently one game and percentage outside, sitting in 10th. COLLINGWOOD will be without young gun Jordan De Goey for Saturday’s sell out blockbuster against Richmond at the MCG. Coach Nathan Buckley dropped a selection bombshell on Thursday when he revealed the recently re-signed star would miss at least two matches with “bone stress” in his leg. The good news for the Magpies is father-son Darcy Moore is back for the important clash after being a late withdrawal with hamstring tightness last weekend. Moore is one of two inclusions, joining fellow father-son Callum Brown. Midfielder Brayden Sier will miss with leg soreness. Jamie Elliott will spend one more week in the VFL as he builds towards playing his first senior game of the season. The Magpies have made the decision to keep De Goey on the sidelines in a bid to avoid further injury. “Jordan won’t play on Saturday and unlikely the week after,” Buckley said. “He’s developed bone stress in the lower leg so we’ve offloaded him since the post match. “We’re told it will be two weeks before we can get back and have a look at where that has settled and that he should be right to complete the season as it stands.” RICHMOND has made two changes for the blockbuster, including naming a debutant. Rookie Liam Baker will make his AFL debut on the big stage after a string of impressive performances at VFL level. The 173cm midfielder/forward joins premiership forward Jacob Townsend as inclusions for the Tigers, while Connor Menadue will miss through injury and Callum Moore omitted. Bachar Houli would spend another week on the sidelines after his recovery from calf soreness stalled. The 30-year-old has been ruled out of playing at either AFL or VFL level this weekend but will “push to play next week”, with a return through the VFL expected. CARLTON coach Brendon Bolton has reacted savagely to last Sunday’s heavy loss to Hawthorn by dropping key forward Levi Casboult. Casboult is one of three Blues to be omitted for the clash against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium alongside Nick Graham and Matt Shaw. Zac Fisher (leg) and Liam Jones (knee) are out injured. Veteran Dale Thomas is back after missing the loss to the Hawks with a knee problem, while Sam Rowe and Darcy Lang have been recalled. ESSENDON has been bolstered by the return of leading goalkicker Jake Stringer for Friday night’s clash against Sydney and Aaron Francis will play his first game of the season. Francis requested a trade back to his home state South Australia at the end of last year before taking time away from the game to deal with personal issues. He has built up his form at VFL level since returning in April. The Bombers have made three changes for the must-win clash against the Swans with Travis Colyer and Ben McNiece omitted and Shaun McKernan out for the season with a hamstring injury. VETERAN Sydney defender Heath Grundy is back for the Swans but coach John Longmire hasn’t made any statements at selection despite the shock loss to Gold Coast last Saturday. The Swans have made just two changes with Jordan Dawson the other inclusion for Harry Marsh and Darcy Cameron, who have both been omitted. ADELAIDE captain Taylor Walker is back from suspension for the clash against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval. The Crows have made just one change with young gun Tom Doedee out with concussion. MELBOURNE has named an unchanged team. COMPLETE THE SURVEY BELOW AND YOU COULD WIN AFL GRAND FINAL TICKETS Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >

Originally published as AFL teams: All the ins and outs for Round 19

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