AFL Round 1: Injury and selection news ahead of the season
A leading Tigers defender, a key Cats forward and a star Kangaroos youngster are all battling to be available for the season opener as the clock runs down.
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Dylan Grimes is doubtful, Gary Rohan will miss Round 1 and North Melbourne star youngster Will Phillips is battling a troubling viral infection ahead of the season opener.
With the clock ticking until the start of the 2022 season we take a look at a number who are struggling to overcome injury in time for next week’s action.
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YOUNG ROO STUCK DOWN BY ILLNESS
North Melbourne will analyse another round of Will Phillips’ blood tests as a shock glandular fever diagnosis threatens his start to the season.
Phillips, 19, powered through 16 AFL games last year in an impressive debut season despite barely playing any football in 2020 due to the impact of Covid on the NAB League.
But the midfielder appears certain to miss round 1 against Hawthorn and he will have to rebuild his fitness levels once blood samples show he has overcome the illness.
“(We’re) not sure where he’s at in the cycle of it,” Roos coach David Noble said on 3AW on Wednesday night.
“The docs just need a little bit more time to assess, maybe another range of some blood tests.”
It’s understood the rebirth of Jared Polec has been locked in, with the winger set to take on Hawthorn next week only months after he was briefly delisted as part of North’s list manoeuvring.
No. 1 pick Jason Horne-Francis and free hit Hugh Greenwood (Gold Coast) are also set to take on the Hawks.
STAR HAWK DEFENDER MAKING GROUND
Dashing Hawthorn defender Changkuoth Jiath will play in a VFL practice match for Box Hill on Friday as he pushes to be part of the Hawks’ round 1 side.
The 22-year-old, who re-signed for two years in February, enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2021 but a posterior cruciate ligament injury ended his season prematurely in July and interrupted his pre-season.
Star midfielders Tom Mitchell (groin soreness) and Jaeger O’Meara (hamstring tightness) are expected to face North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday week.
GRIMES STILL DOUBTFUL FOR BLOCKBUSTER
Richmond co-captain Dylan Grimes remains doubtful to feature in next week’s Round 1 clash with Carlton as a fellow backman continues to close in on an AFL debut.
Grimes, who said on Wednesday that he was still “hopeful” of taking to the field against the Blues, again steered clear of most ball work at training on Thursday morning after having surgery on a torn ligament in his thumb on Monday.
His left hand was still heavily strapped as he spent most of the session doing laps with teammate Kamdyn McIntosh.
One of the shining lights with 25 disposals in last weekend’s AAMI Community Series win over Hawthorn, McIntosh also spent time on an exercise bike as he trained away from the main group.
However, the Tigers said McIntosh was managing his training load and there were “no concerns” over his availability for the club’s season-opener.
Midfielder Kane Lambert took part in the warm-up before completing some running drills alone on the sidelines as he continues to battle a hip injury.
The Tigers are still yet to make a decision on whether to send Lambert in for surgery, which would sideline him for most of the year.
Defender Nick Vlastuin (hamstring) and onballer Jack Graham (hamstring) both trained well, having missed the final pre-season clash against the Hawks.
Draftee Josh Gibcus is also continuing to impress on the track after featuring in both of Richmond’s pre-season matches.
ROHAN UNLIKELY TO MAKE STARTING LINE IN TIIME
Geelong speedster Gary Rohan appears set to miss the start of the AFL season as the Cats closely monitor a back issue that has hampered his pre-season.
The electrifying forward has not appeared in either of Geelong’s practice matches and is only beginning to ramp up his fitness levels just over a week out from Geelong’s round 1 match-up with Essendon.
Geelong footy boss Simon Lloyd said Rohan’s back “is on the improve” but he is still short of taking part in normal training.
Midfielder Sam Simpson is also sidelined after he copped a head knock at training, with the Cats to give him time to recover.
MURPHY ANKLE TO SIDELINE HIM UNTIL MAY
Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy is set to undergo surgery on an injured ankle which could sideline him until at least May.
As the Magpies continue to count the cost from their AAMI Community Series clash against Greater Western Sydney last Sunday, Murphy has become the second Magpie to be ruled out for the start of the season after the loss.
Murphy, 22, will go under the knife this week after scans revealed the extent of the injury. The club said he would be sidelined until mid-May.
The 22-year-old, who played 15 games last season, hurt his ankle in the third quarter after coming down on it in a marking contest.
Murphy’s injury blow follows the two-match suspension handed to Brayden Maynard for striking Giants forward Daniel Lloyd.
The Magpies were already without defenders Jordan Roughead (shoulder) and recruit Charlie Dean (foot) for the start of the season.
Meanwhile, the Brisbane Lions have also suffered an injury blow ahead of their Round 1 clash with defender Keidean Coleman ruled out for two months with a hamstring injury.
After an impressive pre-season, Coleman injured his hamstring in the second quarter of last Friday night’s AAMI Community Series clash against the Western Bulldogs.
Lions high performance manager Damien Austin said scans had confirmed the hamstring injury was a significant one.
“It showed a relatively substantial hamstring strain so we will take out time with that, so it will probably be eight to 10 weeks,” Austin said.
But the injury news was better for James Madden and Deven Robertson, who also finished the match on the sidelines but are expected to be available for the opening-round clash against Port Adelaide.
“Jimmy was involved in a collision and hyper-extended his knee and his ankle got a bit twisted so there was a bit of swelling there,” Austin said.
“But we suspect he will be fine by next week.
“We got Dev scanned also and it was more of a neural lower back awareness and tightness, we weren’t willing to take a risk.
“He trained (Wednesday) and we expect him to be back next week.”
Grimes hope for round 1 in doctor’s hands
—Jon Ralph
Richmond co-captain Dylan Grimes has conceded it might take some nagging of the club doctors to allow him to play in Round 1.
Grimes, 30, had surgery on a torn ligament in his left thumb on Monday after it was caught in a jumper in the team’s clash with Hawthorn in Devonport on Saturday.
He donned a cast at Wednesday’s AFL captain’s day at Marvel Stadium, and admitted that next Thursday night’s meeting with Carlton may be beyond him.
“It’s not too bad,” Grimes said.
“It’s one of those kind of pain in the butt injuries. I was unlucky to get my thumb caught in a jumper on the weekend, and did some damage to a ligament.
“I had surgery two days ago and at this stage I’m still hopeful of making Round 1 return. I haven’t spoken to the doctor about that yet – I’ll pester him (on Wednesday) and see how that pans out.
“If it’s not Round 1, I’m hopeful it will be Round 2.”
And it doesn’t only affect a timeline to start his season for Grimes, who also plies a trade away from Punt Road as owner of Mount Macedon Winery.
The injury will mean he is off the tools in coming weeks, forced to delegate hands-on work to his staff instead.
“It’s probably a real pain when it comes to working on the farm, because I’ve got to keep it pretty clean and dry,” he said.
“If there’s something I can do, I’ll find a way.”
Dons skipper explains mystery Shiel absence
Essendon star Dylan Shiel has the full backing of his teammates after missing the team’s final practice match to attend a leadership course.
Shiel – who had been battling a tight quad – travelled interstate last week to attend a professional leadership event.
Skipper Dyson Heppell said the team was “100 per cent” behind Shiel, who harbours strong business aspirations post-career.
“We were right behind Dyl and it’s something that he’d wanted to do for quite a while,” he told the Herald Sun.
“He got a hell of a lot out of the course so he’s ready and excited to rip into Round 1.”
The club said that Shiel was never going to play against St Kilda last Saturday night and that it was an opportunity to support the midfielder’s development off the field.
Shiel, 28, said that his allowance to embark on the leadership course was an example of the club’s “holistic” approach to its players.
“What the club does really well is help to support us as players to be the best well-rounded individuals we can be, and that extends to our own personal and professional development,” he said.
“I’m as hungry and as excited as ever to take this group forward alongside our leaders including ‘Truck’ (Rutten), Dyson, Zach (Merrett) and Andy (McGrath), and we’re not putting a ceiling on what we can achieve this year.”
Saints unsure on Jones return
St Kilda captain Jack Steele said the club would not rush Zak Jones’ return from personal leave.
Jones has taken time away from the club on the eve of the season in a blow to the Saints’ midfield stocks.
Saints’ champion Nick Riewoldt said St Kilda has the most of any club riding on its Round 1 clash against Collingwood.
Steele said the Saints fully supported Jones’ decision.
“I’m not sure with Zak (on a possible return time frame). He’s obviously taken some personal leave so we are just going to sit and wait with him and give the time that he needs,” Steele said.
Brisbane sweat on gun veteran
Brisbane livewire Mitch Robinson will be fit to take on Port Adelaide in Round 1 despite testing positive to Covid on Wednesday.
Robinson will be forced into seven days of Covid protocols but will be out of house lockdown next Wednesday and able to train twice leading into the Gabba clash.
Robinson missed a media day on Wednesday after a positive rapid test and unless he returns a negative PCR test will be away from the club for a week.
The Lions have had a majority of players build some natural immunity after having Covid over the summer but as Round 1 approaches suddenly players will be forced to miss critical home-and-away clashes with Covid positives.
The Lions are in good shape ahead of that clash but it is understood defender Keidean Coleman’s hamstring strain could keep him out for six to eight weeks.
He pulled up sore in the win over the Western Bulldogs with a tendon-related injury, having only recently been out of seven-day lockdown after being a close contact to his brother’s Covid positive.
Other clubs have also had players injured in the days after they get out of lockdown.
Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko was a close contact but is now out of lockdown and will build to round 1 after overcoming achilles issues.
While clubs have been told they will play on regardless of Covid positives there are many issues they will have to consider.
Players who test positive late in the week will often be forced to miss two games given the tight turnaround and lack of training.
West Coast and Fremantle have barely recorded a single Covid positive so can expect to be hit harder in coming months.
Clubs are also scared about another winter surge of omicron or another variant that would see clubs with multiply players sidelined.
The AFL has ruled only if clubs have 28 or less players available, with one of them a Covid case, can they secure top-up players from their lists of 20.
No guarantees, but good signs for Fyfe
—Russell Gould
Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe has gave the best indication yet that he will be fit for Round 1 despite not being able to guarantee he will lead his team out against Adelaide.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist has endured multiple setbacks following reconstructive shoulder surgery last July and was finally passed fit to play in a match last week.
But he skipped the pre-season showdown with West Coast as part of a risk-free approach and said he was not yet locked in for the first game against the Crows on March 20.
“We’re taking a round one is not on or off the table approach,” Fyfe said on Wednesday.
“Because I’ve had to push so hard over the last two months to get the rest of my body up to speed, we’re just waiting for it to consolidate and making sure there’s no soft-tissue injury risks.
“The upside really wasn’t there, and we decided a few more weeks of strength into my shoulder was only going to be better for it.
“The shoulder will be fine for round one, it’s just whether the rest of the body is right to go.”
Fyfe hasn’t played since Round 17 last season but has been in full-contact training preparing himself for a return to play.
The Dockers twice took care of an injury-depleted West Coast outfit in practice games and Fyfe liked what he saw.
He was adamant the Dockers were a “more professional outfit” headed in to 2022 and ready to build on last year’s 10-win season.
“Our hardness in the contest has improved but pre-season games give you basically zero information, so we can’t take anything from our two games against West Coast,” Fyfe said.
“The standard of training we’ve seen from our players across pre-season indicates to me that we’re a more professional and harder outfit. The season proper will tell whether that’s actually true.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure that we’re better than we were last year.”
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