SuperCoach Round 19 whispers: Nat Fyfe and Shannon Hurn set for fitness tests, while Travis Boak in doubt for Port Adelaide
He might have been absent from training on Wednesday, but Port Adelaide remains confident Travis Boak will face GWS Giants in a crunch fixture on Saturday. Get the latest selection whispers.
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Port Adelaide remains star on-baller and premium SuperCoach forward Travis Boak will face GWS Giants on Saturday despite missing training yesterday.
Power co-captain Tom Jonas told media on Wednesday Boak was still expected to play against the Giants, news which will come as a welcome boost to 85,000 SuperCoach teams.
“He’s just managing a couple of little niggles but absolutely in no doubt for the weekend,” Jonas said.
Boak missed Port Adelaide’s Round 16 showdown against Adelaide after experiencing back spasms in the warm up, however he has been back to his prolific self in the past two games with 32 disposals against Brisbane Lions and 29 against Richmond.
Meanwhile, John Worsfold discussed popular SuperCoach rookie Dylan Clarke’s job security, Alastair Clarkson provided an update on Grant Birchall’s fitness and the spotlight has remained on Nat Fyfe after he was hospitalised with an infection.
Shannon Hurn (calf) was a late scratching against the Dees but appears to be in full training with @WestCoastEagles today, could come up ok to face @NMFCOfficial. No McGovern (ankle) but not abnormal for guys to sit out Monday training.@FOXFOOTY pic.twitter.com/c8SIX9geRz
— Josh Garlepp (@JoshGarlepp) July 23, 2019
GET THE LATEST SUPERCOACH WHISPERS FOR ROUND 19 BELOW
EAGLES HOPEFUL HURN WILL FACE ROOS
West Coast skipper Shannon Hurn will face a fitness test later this week on his calf injury as he bids to return after missing the club’s victory over Melbourne. Hurn was replaced by debutant Francis Watson for the Alice Springs clash and coach Adam Simpson said post-match the six-day turnaround could hamper his hopes of tackling North Melbourne on Saturday. But on Tuesday, Eagles general manager of football Craig Vozzo added: “He’s pulled up quite well and we’ll do some more work with him through the week and he’ll be a test later in the week.” Cross your fingers SuperCoaches.
FREO CONFIDENT FYFE WILL RETURN
Fremantle says it has been “really pleased” with captain Nat Fyfe’s recovery after he was hospitalised with an elbow infection which coach Ross Lyon said made him “quite an ill boy” last week. Fyfe missed the Dockers’ win over Sydney, but signs are positive he will be back in Round 19 against Western Bulldogs on Sunday. “We’ve been really pleased with the way that he’s progressing and he’ll be a test later this week,” Fremantle general manager of football Peter Bell said. “We’re very hopeful and quite confident that he’ll be available to play against the Western Bulldogs.”
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DONS STRILL ASSESSING BEST MIDFIELD MIX
Dylan Clarke’s role as a tagger has added another dimension to Essendon’s midfield and he’s provided valuable cover for a host of SuperCoaches. Bombers coach John Worsfold said his resurgent side had yet to settle on its best midfield mix, but praised the way Clarke had capitalised on his longest run at AFL level. “We have been winning games since Dylan has been in, but we don’t know if we would have won those games regardless,” Worsfold said on SEN. “It’s hard to say just because we have changed one slight role within our midfield group that that has made all the difference. We’re having a look at what it means across a range of parameters. Not only what it means for the opposition, but really around clearance differential and the value we’re getting out of our clearances and scoring from clearances as well.” Clarke features in 62,000 SuperCoach teams and has climbed to $297,200 with a break even of 23.
FORWARD THINKING FUELS SMITH RISE
Renowned for his ability as a dashing half-back flanker, Brodie Smith has flourished in the past two weeks for Adelaide in a more advanced role. Smith scored 127 points against Essendon on Friday and has gone 97, 98 and 127 in his past three matches. He attended several centre bounces against the Bombers and had a game-high six inside-50s in the first half. After Adelaide’s recent win against Gold Coast, Crows assistant coach Ben Hart said: “It’s been something we’ve been looking at trying to get those guys with a bit more dynamic speed, I guess, through the top of the forward line.” Smith certainly provides that and his three-round average of 107.3 ranks fifth for defenders.
WILLIAMS TO CONTINUE MIDFIELD ROLE
Giants coach Leon Cameron lauded Zac Williams’ adaptability after he was thrown into midfield with great effect in GWS’ commanding win over Collingwood. Without Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio, Williams relished greater on-ball responsibility, finishing with 103 SuperCoach points from a game which yielded 26 disposals, four marks and 10 tackles. Cameron said Williams would spend time in the middle for at least the next 2-3 weeks until Kelly returns from injury. “Kelly is probably a couple of weeks and (Matt) De Boer is a couple of weeks,” Cameron said. “Clearly Zac is going to be in there for a fair bit of time over the next two or three games.”
BIRCHALL A CHANCE TO RETURN FOR HAWKS
Plenty of coaches were left in the lurch last round when Grant Birchall withdrew from Hawthorn’s side after scoring 87 in his long-awaited return from injury. Birchall was a late out before the Hawks win against Geelong due to general soreness, throwing a spanner in the works for teams who used him to cover Griffin Logue’s absence in Round 17. But the news from Waverley is more positive this week, with Alastair Clarkson leaving the door ajar for Birchall to return against top-two side Brisbane. “I walked in with him (on Sunday) and he said, ‘I’m feeling pretty good Clarko, I reckon I could have nearly played’,” Clarkson said on Sunday. “(We’ll) hopefully have him back next week for the Brisbane game.” Clarkson added Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell would not play this year, ruling out a late-season return after the club kept its finals dream alive.
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MENEGOLA SHINES IN VFL RETURN
Don’t rule Sam Menegola out of SuperCoach calculations yet. The Geelong midfielder returned from injury via the VFL at the weekend and pushed his case for a senior call-up with 26 disposals and 11 tackles. A $419,400 SuperCoach fwd-mid, Menegola has only averaged 81.2 points this year but has a history of premium scoring. He has averaged 100.4 and 100 in the past two seasons and started the current campaign at $543,100.
Originally published as SuperCoach Round 19 whispers: Nat Fyfe and Shannon Hurn set for fitness tests, while Travis Boak in doubt for Port Adelaide
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