AFL early mail: All the selection and injury news ahead of round 16
Sam Taylor is set to meet with a specialist over a nasty injury to a testicle, while Zak Butters is learning to cope with more attention. Check out all the early mail here.
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GWS Giant Sam Taylor will meet with a specialist on Wednesday to determine when he will be able to return from a ruptured testicle.
Taylor had surgery last week on his testicle after hurting it in the win over Port Adelaide, and has already missed one game.
There are hopes he may only miss two or three more matches but he will meet with a specialist on Wednesday to assess his recovery before committing to a timeline.
Taylor is one of the best defenders in the league who has re-signed with the club early in the face of massive league-wide interest in his services.
The Giants are hopeful Stephen Coniglio (shoulder) and Harry Perryman (hamstring) will pass fitness tests this week in a bid to take on Adelaide on Saturday.
Taylor missing gives young key defender Leek Aleer a longer stint in the side.
BUTTERS COMING UNDER OPPOSITION MICROSCOPE
Port Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr believes opposition teams may start to target Zak Butters more often after the midfielder received his fourth striking charge.
The Power vice-captain was hit with a $10,000 fine, reduced to $6250 with an early guilty plea, for striking Brisbane’s Jarrod Berry in the big loss on Friday.
Berry had been paying close attention to Butters, with the midfielder’s frustration boiling over with an off-ball strike to the Lions tagger’s midriff.
It was the second time Butters had been charged with striking in consecutive weeks, however he had successfully thrown out a charge from an incident involving Giants midfielder Tom Green.
Carr said teams would start looking at Butters more often for close checking roles, with the star developing a reputation of not responding well to the attention.
“I’d like to think it’s probably not going to happen again, he’s spoken about being disappointed in that coming up and I guess what it looks like on the outside as well,” he said.
“We all saw the incident, it wasn’t bad but I guess it comes off the back of the week before, why it was disappointing.
“His intentions and everything were right and he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, probably was just something that was a reaction, that he doesn’t need to do.
There’s no doubt other clubs will look at it and go ‘we can frustrate him’ but at the same time, he had a pretty good game on the weekend.
“What he’s got to do is let his football do the talking.”
Butters had 35 disposals, eight clearances and six tackles and was one of Port Adelaide’s only strong performers in the 79-point loss.
He appeared to hurt his shoulder in the contest, but Carr confirmed he was uninjured and at no risk of missing a game.
LOBB FACING AXE
The Western Bulldogs are hopeful Aaron Naughton and James Harmes could return against North Melbourne on Saturday as Rory Lobb faces the prospect of being squeezed out, despite his best game of the season.
Naughton did some light training on Monday at Whitten Oval as he recovers from a medial ligament injury, but Wednesday’s main training session will be where the medicos judge his progress.
Sam Darcy is a certainty to return from a two-week suspension and the Dogs are reasonably optimistic Naughton will get through and play against North Melbourne.
Lobb’s 19-possession, three-goal game came as Tim English also fired in the commanding victory over Fremantle. But with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan also in the front six, coach Luke Beveridge would be unlikely to play all of Ugle-Hagan, Naughton, Darcy, English and Lobb.
The Dogs are also hopeful Nick Coffield (shoulder) will be ready to return, but he could get a run in the VFL after suffering the injury in round 2.
Harmes hurt his hamstring against Collingwood just when he was building exceptional form that included a four-goal, 27-touch performance against Richmond.
Jason Johannisen is two weeks away as he recovers from a hamstring injury, but the 7-7 Dogs will believe they are rapidly approaching full strength if Naughton can return. He hurt his knee in the clash against Sydney a month ago and despite initial fears, was cleared of ACL damage. Naughton was in spectacular form and given opponent North Melbourne is making such strong progress if he is ready to play the Dogs will select him.
Lobb was awful in a five-possession display against Brisbane – with Darcy and Naughton out – but was exceptional against Fremantle, just when critics were sharpening their knives.
His 11-score involvement game showed what he is capable of, even as the Dogs make clear they will not trade him with two more years on his contract.
The bye week will have given the Dogs’ players time to ease any soreness, with captain Marcus Bontempelli in dominant form, but playing with an ankle-foot problem at times early in the year.
Cody Weightman returned from elbow surgery to kick three goals against the Dockers, so if Naughton is fit to play, the Dogs will have their best side – on paper – since at least round 7.
INJURY CURSE
Richmond’s cursed injury run has continued with star forward Tom Lynch out for at least the next fortnight with a fresh hamstring concern.
Lynch pulled up sore late in the club’s loss to Hawthorn before the bye with soreness and scans have confirmed muscle damage.
He will miss a clash against Carlton on Sunday afternoon that already looks particularly one-sided.
The star Tiger suffered hamstring tendon damage on the opposite leg earlier this year, but was plagued by hamstring concerns across the 2022 season.
The Tigers are hopeful he will miss only a fortnight given he has already been out across the bye.
But a club that has been decimated with ACL tears to Mykelti Lefau, Josh Gibcus, Tylar Young and Judson Clarke cannot take a trick.
For all his brilliance Lynch has played more than 20 games only once in the past eight seasons given soft tissue complaints, a PCL reconstruction, a metatarsal fracture in his foot and the hamstring tendon injury.
Richmond expects Jacob Hopper will return from his most recent injury after overcoming a hamstring issue.
Veteran midfielder Dion Prestia will also be a test off his most recent calf issue but could be another week away.
STRAIGHT BACK IN
– Josh Barnes
Brisbane Lions young gun Will Ashcroft is poised to step straight back into the AFL side on Friday night, 342 days after his ruptured ACL.
Ashcroft went down with the knee injury in round 19 last year, with the first-year Lion then a clear favourite to win the rising star award.
The young professional has diligently attacked his rehab and appears unlikely to return through the VFL.
The Lions have few questions about his fitness given he has been running at full speed for well beyond a month and veteran teammate Dayne Zorko on Monday declared Ashcroft’s touch at training was “absolutely elite”.
Lions coach Chris Fagan said last week he was open minded about throwing Ashcroft straight back in for Friday night’s home meeting with Melbourne.
Ashcroft’s return creates a sudden logjam at selection for Brisbane, a team that has only lost once in its last seven matches.
Kai Lohmann will be assessed during the week after copping a brutal cork high in his right leg from Port Adelaide’s Esava Ratugolea in Saturday’s 79-point thrashing of the Power.
Brisbane still has four players – Lincoln McCarthy, Darcy Gardiner, Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee – ruled out for the season with knee injuries but once Ashcroft comes off, Noah Answerth (shoulder) will be the only other name of note on the injury list.
Lohmann, substitute Shadeau Brain, runner Bruce Reville and Callum Ah Chee would appear most likely to be under pressure from Ashcroft for a spot to face the Demons.
But Ah Chee booted two goals from 20 touches against the Power and Reville also bagged two goals from 17 disposals.
Forgotten midfielder Deven Robertson has continued to press his case in the VFL in recent weeks and gathered 33 disposals in a win over Frankston on Saturday.
Zorko didn’t lock 20-year-old Ashcroft in for a return on Monday but said this week’s selection was going to be tough.
“He’s (Ashcroft) available. He’s been training with us for the last month and has been doing some things at training that flashback to last year and the brilliance he showed in his first year,” Zorko said.
“That’s another selection headache for Fages that he is going to have to sort out, I am glad I am not in that (match) committee.
“He’s been training for … a long time and his touch, and hands, look absolutely elite.
“Seeing what I’m seeing at training he looks more than capable of just coming in and doing what he needs to.”
Zorko was speaking on Monday from Ronald McDonald House in Brisbane, with the Lions to donate $500 for every goal they kick on Friday to the charity which supports ill children and their families.
COLLINGWOOD CAVALRY
– Jay Clark
A TRIO of Collingwood stars will push to make their return against Gold Coast on Saturday in a massive boost to the club’s top-four hopes.
Champion onballer Scott Pendlebury (arm), mobile forward Brody Mihocek (hamstring) and powerful midfielder Jordan de Goey (abdomen) are all vying for selection against the Suns if they can pass fitness tests at training this week.
And key forward Dan McStay is in the mix to make an early comeback from an ACL injury within the next fortnight through the VFL.
McStay, who underwent a knee reconstruction in the pre-season, will need several matches in the VFL before pressing for an AFL return around Round 20-21.
McStay would be a massive addition to the Magpies’ senior side only weeks out from finals as one of Collingwood’s most important players and dangerous goal kickers.
Collingwood has been hard hit by injury this season but the crisis is importantly beginning to ease for the second half of the season.
While it remains unclear if the Magpies will want to welcome back three players from injury against the Suns, De Goey is the one who could be given more time to recover from his abdominal tear.
An extra week’s rest will see De Goey take on Essendon in his return game in a packed-out Friday night blockbuster in Round 17 at the MCG.
The clash looms as a top-four showdown for the two sides and a crucial stepping stone in Essendon’s bid to maintain grip on a potential double chance this September after 20 years without a finals win.
If Pendlebury returns from his bicep injury this week it will put the six-time All-Australian on track to play his 400th game against Carlton at the MCG in a Saturday night blockbuster in Round 21.
Forward Jamie Elliott (illness), onballer Tom Mitchell (foot) and tall Mason Cox (knee) are at least another month away.
It means the Magpies will face some tough selection calls as a handful of premiership players make their way back into the senior side in the run home.
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Originally published as AFL early mail: All the selection and injury news ahead of round 16
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