Melbourne swingman Tom McDonald the latest star to withdraw from AFLX tournament
Melbourne forward Tom McDonald is the latest star to withdraw from AFLX as the key forward goes under the knife. But one Giant is looking forward to playing alongside one of his idols.
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Tom McDonald has joined the AFLX-odus, pulling out of Friday’s tournament with a knee complaint.
McDonald has had a cortisone injection to treat a case of patellar tendinitis and won’t feature in the revamped round robin at Marvel Stadium.
The Melbourne forward was initially scheduled to have the jab after AFLX, but Demons medicos chose to act sooner to ensure he could feature in the JLT series and best prepare for Round 1.
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McDonald trained on Wednesday, but only completed drills away from the main group.
The Demons insist he is in no danger of missing the club’s season-opener against Port Adelaide on March 23.
McDonald will be replaced in AFLX by Demons teammate Bayley Fritsch, but his absence is another blow for a concept that has lost Isaac Smith, Luke Breust, Robbie Gray, Chad Wingard, Steven May, Joel Hamling and Robbie Tarrant since the “draft” was held a fortnight ago.
Smith and Breust last week told the league they would prioritise Thursday’s practice match against Carlton over Friday’s AFLX.
Greater Western Sydney star Stephen Coniglio told the Herald Sun he’d never thought about doing the same, despite the Giants playing a scratch match against Sydney on Friday morning.
“Initially, our schedule hadn’t factored in a practice match against the Swans. We play them next week in our first JLT game anyway. I think, for me, two JLT games is enough,” Coniglio said.
Coniglio will line up for Nat Fyfe’s Flyers beside Scott Pendlebury, Marcus Bontempelli and Isaac Heeney.
“I keep telling Phil Davis and Lachie Whitfield (Rampage) it’s the best squad in it, but they seem to think they’ve got everyone covered,” he said.
“I’m excited about it. I think this rejuvenated format will be better than last year and from a players’ perspective, being able to play with some of the best players in the competition is great,” he said.
Asked who he’s most looking forward to playing with, Coniglio said: “No disrespect to the rest, but Pendles and Nat are the two.
“For me in particular, being a WA boy, I’d tracked Nat Fyfe pretty closely growing up and that’s someone I’ve always aspired to be like, so to rub shoulders with him will be fantastic.
“The concept is new and exciting and it just breaks up the pre-season a little bit, particularly when we go through some pretty long blocks of training.
“We started back in late November, so I’m ready. I think the competitive juices will be flowing out there and I’m looking forward to it.”
Originally published as Melbourne swingman Tom McDonald the latest star to withdraw from AFLX tournament
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