AFL MRO round 10 findings, injury news: Jason Horne-Francis hamstring injury, Patrick Dangerfield awaits scan results
Carnage took ovet at Adelaide Oval with some stars knocked out of the Power and Cats clash on Saturday. And while Port are breathing a sigh of relief, the Cats face a nervous wait.
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Geelong believes its brilliant new band of runners will help alleviate Patrick Dangerfield’s medium-term absence as Bailey Smith prepares for his home grudge match against the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night.
Dangerfield will have scans on his latest hamstring injury on Monday but with four weeks left until the bye it would surprise if he was seen again until round 16.
Geelong will be buoyed by the return of Tom Stewart from his own leg injury which has seen him sidelined for the last three weeks with a PCL concern.
The hamstring issue is to Dangerfield’s right leg, not the left leg which saw him miss nine games in separate episodes last year.
Dangerfield missed three, then six weeks across those twin concerns last year but has played largely as a key forward this season.
So while he faces another period of rehabilitation the Cats will hope he can again time his run after playing the final 11 games of 2024 on the way to a preliminary final.
Dangerfield’s absence will not take any of the spice out of the Bailey Smith Cup with the Western Bulldogs on fire and desperate for a third successive GHMBA Stadium victory.
Coach Luke Beveridge said the club would tweak its travel routine so most players could travel down on Thursday at some stage, with a few choosing to stay in Geelong hotels overnight on Wednesday.
Geelong believes Smith is genuinely looking forward to the clash against his former side after adding spice by mocking the club’s Ballarat clashes recently.
While the Dogs don’t have a recognised tagger those early skirmishes will likely come against Dogs stalwarts like Tom Liberatore.
The Dogs were furious about Smith saying he had “outgrown” the Dogs but they will have to catch him first.
Port Adelaide taggers Miles Bergman and Willem Drew were not able to stop Smith in another scintillating display against the Power.
Uncapped Cat George Stevens and 2024 improver Ted Clohesy were both prolific in the midfield for the Cats VFL side with the Cats also having to replace Jack Bowes (hamstring).
Scott said despite all of the time and research put into investigating hamstring concerns the “ballistic” nature of AFL football meant players would always break down under fatigue.
While Dangerfield is out, he has now developed an elite tagger in Oisin Mullen (after scalps including Nick Daicos and Zak Butters), has an elite wingman in Ollie Henry and a gut-busting runner in Smith.
“He is a power runner, that is for sure,” Scott said of Smith.
“Our team in general, hopefully it doesn’t sound like us blowing our own trumpet, but we have transitioned into a team that can really run, and Bailey is a part of that.
“I don’t think anyone is ‘untaggable,’ but he certainly is a handful because he just keeps going and going.”
JHF INJURY SHOCK: PORT STAR COULD RETURN WITHIN WEEKS
Port Adelaide star Jason Horne-Francis has escaped a serious hamstring injury and could miss only the away clash against Fremantle as AFL great Matthew Lloyd accused the Power of being on an emotional “rollercoaster” in Ken Hinkley’s final year.
Scans have cleared Horne-Francis of a long-term issue, with Josh Sinn also having dodged structural damage to his hip ahead of the Optus Stadium clash against the Dockers.
Horne-Francis could still end up missing three weeks but with a bye in round 12 after the Dockers there is hope he might be back for GWS in round 13.
As the club’s season slips away at 4-6, Lloyd said the club’s handover to Josh Carr had to be having some impact amid three huge beltings this season.
Coach Hinkley admitted the Power deserved criticism after failing to back up the narrow loss in the Showdown with a competitive clash against Geelong.
The scan results for defender Lachie Jones (hamstring) will be known on Monday but without three prime movers Hinkley said the club had been hampered by “how we would like to use the ball, get the ball and move the ball”.
Sinn copped a knock to his hip pointer and had some numbness in his leg but the club hopes he might be available next week.
Horne-Francis said on Sunday he was hopeful the hamstring injury would not keep him out too long.
“It was my first hammy so it was a bit weird for me. You definitely know when you do it, you feel it go and grab. That’s what I felt. I didn’t feel like it was too bad but we will just see how it goes,” he said.
Lloyd told Nine that the Power were too boom or bust after rousing victories and losses including 91 points to Collingwood, 90 points to the Western Bulldogs and 76 points to the Cats.
“They are not just losing, they are getting belted,” he said.
“The two games they have been up for in recent times are Hawthorn who they have a history with and a Showdown. Emotionally we talk about Port Adelaide. They are an emotional team, you have a coach leaving at the end of the year and they are getting up but then having too many lows. Good sides like Collingwood and Brisbane are even but Port Adelaide is just a rollercoaster.
“(The succession plan) has to be part of it. You look at Ken Hinkley, you see the emotion he has. When you know he’s leaving and that’s a real challenge.”
Jack Lukosius is only 50-50 to return from a knee injury next week and would likely return through the SANFL if he was available.
Hinkley says the club isn’t in transition but admits too many performances have been poor.
““ That is the reality of 4-6. Some of the losses have been quite big, significantly big but I don’t think it’s a transition period. We are not terrible but we have had some terrible losses.
“We have had a number of games where we have been so far off and we have paid a price on the scoreboard. We deserved the whacks we have got.”
BEVO DROPS INJURY BOMBSHELL WITH STAR OUT FOR SEASON
— Tyler Lewis
Western Bulldogs will run out the remainder of 2025 without small forward Cody Weightman.
Weightman, who kicked 26 or more goals in four consecutive seasons before this year, has been recovering from a knee injury he sustained during the pre-season.
He has been listed as ‘indefinite’ on Western Bulldogs’ injury list but coach Luke Beveridge ruled him out after his side’s 91-point win over Essendon on Saturday.
Beveridge said Weightman would undergo further surgery on his troublesome knee in coming months.
“We won’t get ‘Flea’ Weightman back now this year, we’ve got to get used to that, whereas Sam (Darcy) will come back into calculations not long after the bye,” he said.
“Now he’s processed the fact he’s not going to play, he’s not relieved because he would have loved to play, but he’s OK (and) he’s got peace of mind.
“Now he knows what he can do in the meantime, he will probably have another surgery between now and the end of the year.
“That’ll happen in the not too distant future, but, as you’d expect, he’s such a great human being and wants to know what his role is off field.
“He wants to know how he can help, so we have to find something for him.”
CODY WEIGHTMAN FLIES ✈ï¸#AFLDogsBluespic.twitter.com/0ooegzteST
— AFL (@AFL) July 13, 2024
SWANS DUO PAY PRICE FOR RECKLESS BUMPS IN BLUES WIN
— Lachlan McKirdy
The Swans will be without key forward Joel Amartey for three weeks after he was charged with rough conduct for a bump that left Carlton’s Jordan Boyd concussed.
Dean Cox’s side had all but wrapped up their win in the final term when Amartey looked to bump Boyd with barely two minutes remaining of the match. Boyd immediately fell to the ground and had to be assisted by trainers from the field.
In the post-match press conference, Michael Voss confirmed that Boyd would enter concussion protocols following the incident, meaning the match review officer had to grade the impact as severe.
Amartey’s contact was graded as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. As a result, he will face a three-match suspension and miss matches against Melbourne, Adelaide and Richmond.
The game was Amartey’s first in five weeks after being subbed out of Sydney’s Gather Round clash with a hamstring strain.
It was a double blow for the Swans with Justin McInerney also set to miss next week’s clash against the Demons at the MCG.
McInerney was cited for a bump on Jack Silvagni, collecting the Carlton defender high in the second quarter. It’s McInerney’s second suspension of the year after he served a three-week ban for bumping Brisbane’s Brandon Starcevich.
The Swans will have to make at least three changes for the Melbourne clash, with Aaron Francis entering concussion protocols after he was subbed out of the Carlton clash in the first half. It’s Francis’ second concussion for the season after he suffered a head knock during a VFL practice match in March.
Thankfully for Cox, he will have some cavalry to call on with captain Callum Mills and experienced midfielder Taylor Adams both impressing in their VFL loss to the Blues.
Hayden McLean is also in the frame to return after being dropped for the Carlton clash. He was unable to kick a goal in his VFL stint but will likely lead the Swans’ forward line alongside Joel Hamling in Amartey’s absence.
Originally published as AFL MRO round 10 findings, injury news: Jason Horne-Francis hamstring injury, Patrick Dangerfield awaits scan results
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