AFL news 2023: Matt Guelfi suffers strained calf muscle
The forward stocks at Essendon have taken another hit with a much improved Bomber sidelined with a calf injury. Get the latest Essendon pre-season news here.
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Essendon has suffered another injury setback ahead of round one with forward Matt Guelfi straining a calf muscle at training during the week.
The much-improved Bomber, who finished third in the club’s best and fairest last year, remains on track for Round 1 but is set to have pre-season disrupted as he recovers from the injury.
Guelfi joins fellow forward and last year’s best and fairest winner Peter Wright in having had recent calf issues.
Wright limped off the track last month but backman Mason Redman said this week that Wright was making steady progress and was in line to play later this month.
“If we can get them out there for those practice games it will be huge because he’s massive for our structure. But having a chat to him this morning it seems like he’s going really well,” Redman said.
The dynamic Jake Stringer, meanwhile, did not train on Thursday, continuing a stop-start pre-season, with SEN’s Kane Cornes querying Stringer’s commitment.
“Rinse and repeat with Jake Stringer,” Cornes said.
“It was revealed that Stringer has been removed from the main program due to back soreness.
“I saw him turn up on day one of pre-season and he just didn’t look fit. I’ve got no sympathy for full-time professional athletes, even if you’ve been on eight weeks’ holiday, who turn up not looking fit.
“Unsurprisingly, he ramps up his training, he looks really good and plays well in an intra-club and then all of a sudden his body breaks down.
“I reckon this happens every single year for Jake. He’s now 28 years of age.
“Am I too hard on that?”
THE TALL STORY WHICH MIGHT BE A BIG PROBLEM AT BOMBERLAND
Essendon forward Jake Stringer has been put on light duties to overcome some back soreness before the practice matches ramp up.
The superstar goal kicker was absent from Bombers’ main training on Thursday as the rest of his teammates completed a two-hour session at Tullamarine.
Stringer, 28, was excellent in some match simulation playing mostly forward last Wednesday, but the matchwinner had to wind back his training this week.
Instead, Stringer completed some indoor training and was seen in a lengthy conversation with medicos on the boundary line late in the session.
The Bombers said Stringer was dealing with some soreness and were hopeful he will increase his training loads from Saturday in a bid to hit the season at full fitness in a dangerous forward role.
Stringer signed a bumper new deal after an outstanding 2021 season, however his preparation for last season was severely limited by a debilitating pre-season groin problem.
He kicked 25 goals across 15 games last year and produced a brilliant late burst to pip Sydney Swans in Round 16 at the MCG, but did not finish inside the top-10 of the best and fairest.
Stringer will attempt to rediscover his best form under new coach Brad Scott who has been lauded for his impact at Essendon helping simplify the coaching message, ramp up the forward pressure and stiffen the defensive operations over summer.
Gun defender Mason Redman on Thursday said “Brad has been big on instilling that defensive nature into us”.
“We have really struggled at stopping the opposition from transitioning the ball (from defence to attack) for a number of years now, so it’s been a big focus for us over the pre-season,” Redman said.
“I feel like we are making good inroads to it.”
Stringer looks set to spend more time forward in 2023 to help spearhead the attack alongside best-and-fairest winner Peter Wright.
Stringer has been a force at stoppages in his career but the arrival of Will Setterfield, from Carlton, will inject another big body in the onball department, helping provide some muscle and protection for Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish.
Setterfield is on track to take on Hawthorn in the season-opener Sunday, March 19 at the MCG.
Redman clashed with Stringer in a heated exchange at match simulation a fortnight ago, but he downplayed any tension between the pair on Thursday.
“It was just a nice cuddle for us on the field. We are obviously competitive boys who are just trying to get the best out of each other and that can cause clashes like that,” Redman said.
“Literally five minutes later we were having a chat and everything is all good.”
Wright was part of the rehab group on Thursday after suffering a calf issue at training last week.
Talls Sam Weideman (quad), James Stewart (foot), Zach Reid (back) and Nik Cox (ankle) were also in the rehab group.
Cox could step up his training with the main group next week, while the Herald Sun revealed top draft pick Elijah Tsatas will be out for about two months after knee surgery.
PIES RUCK HOBBLES OFF TRACK WITH HAMMY ISSUE
Collingwood ruckman Darcy Cameron has suffered a fresh hamstring setback at training in a blow to the club’s ruck plans.
Cameron finished Wednesday’s session early with right hamstring soreness and will be sent for scans.
With more than six weeks to go before Round 1 the Pies will be confident he will be available to lead the club’s ruck division against Geelong in a Friday night blockbuster at the MCG in the opening round.
But, after trading Brodie Grundy to Melbourne in the exchange period, a lot rides on a fit Cameron playing a big role in the club’s premiership tilt this season.
Mason Cox is the next best ruck option who will likely take over for at least one of the Pies’ two practice games in February – March, if Cameron misses three or four weeks with a standard hamstring strain.
Collingwood won’t take any risks with its injured big man on the eve of the season.
The club showed a lot of confidence in Cameron handing him the ruck reins after off-loading Grundy for pick 27.
The Pies will be hoping Cameron has suffered only tightness or a mild strain but will learn more about the problem after assessments with medicos over the next 24 hours.
Encouragingly, Cameron’s injury did not appear to be severe.
Collingwood is already missing key forward Nathan Krueger with another shoulder injury while captaincy favourite Darcy Moore sat out the match simulation as he works back to full fitness after a bone infection before Christmas.
Moore is tipped to take over from Scott Pendlebury as skipper with Jeremy Howe and Taylor Adams in support.
Superstar ballwinner Jordan De Goey trained well in a midfield role on Wednesday after overcoming a shoulder concern.
BLUES STAR READY TO HELP CARRY THE LOAD IN WALSH’S ABSENCE
Carlton will lock inspirational former captain Sam Docherty away on a new deal before round 1 as it considers the defender as a potential early-season replacement for Sam Walsh.
Docherty put together a brilliant 2022 season in which he played as a dominant half back before going into the centre square to cover for injuries to the ailing Blues in the last three rounds.
He averaged 128 ranking points and 28 possessions as a midfielder in that time, with Michael Voss pushing him as a strong All Australian contender late in the season.
Instead the Blues were shocked when he missed the All Australian 40 entirely but with Adam Saad and Zac Williams enjoying strong pre-seasons Voss has some flexibility with Docherty’s positioning.
The unrestricted free agent will ramp up contract talks in coming weeks which will see him given certainty ahead of the season.
Docherty is still only 29 and would believe he is firmly in the club’s premiership window despite the heartbreaking round 23 loss to Collingwood last year which knocked the club from finals contention.
He provided one of footy’s most emotional stories last year as he returned from a second bout of testicular cancer to kick a goal in his round 1 return in a victory over Richmond.
Carlton has already locked away potential 2023 free agents Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay but the Herald Sun revealed last year Tom De Koning was in no hurry to sign a new deal until he found out his place in the key position pecking order.
Walsh has returned to running after back surgery to remove a portion of a bulging disc but the club has already said he will miss the first month of the season.
He is irreplaceable but the club does have midfield depth with Patrick Cripps, Adam Cerra and George Hewett part of the starting midfield.
Carlton was happy to facilitate a trade for the contracted Paddy Dow but there were no takers, which meant he remained at Ikon Park over summer.
He has continued to build on his running power after finishing the season with 41 possessions in a VFL final against Brisbane.
Former St Kilda and Fremantle wingman Blake Acres will make an instant impact on the wing, but Carlton will hope it can dodge injuries leading into round 1.
Jordan Boyd is already out long-term with an acute fracture in his foot, while Matt Cottrell is recovering from a navicular stress fracture.
HOW 10 NERVOUS DAYS COULD DETERMINE HAWKS’ SEASON
Hawthorn is hopeful Mitch Lewis will show enough improvement in the next 10 days to dodge the worst-case ACL reconstruction as it plans for early clashes without its best two forwards from last season.
Lewis suffered an ACL sprain in an innocuous training incident and while he finished the session he reported swelling and had scans which revealed the damage.
Hawthorn said last week “early signs” suggested the injury wouldn’t need surgery but will know more in coming days as they monitor his improvement.
If he can show that the injury is improving he could make an early-season return despite already being ruled out of Round 1.
The club is hopeful he will nothellomobile need ACL surgery but won’t be able to rule out that season-ending scenario until it monitors Lewis’ progress in coming weeks.
Hawthorn’s list is so inexperienced that it can ill-afford to lose its stars if it wants to replicate last year’s eight victories.
The Hawks have winnable early-season games against Essendon (round 1), North Melbourne (round 3), GWS (round 5) and Adelaide (round 6).
The club believes it can build a forward line around Lewis, with fellow attacking star Jack Gunston having moved to Brisbane as part of free agency last October.
In Gunston’s absence Jacob Koschitzke will get a great chance to lead the forward line after 27 goals in a breakout 2021 followed by a quieter 2022 where he kicked 18 goals from 16 games.
The club signed 187cm Box Hill forward Fergus Greene in November and has big plans for him after 53 VFL goals last year, while 2021’s No. 53 draft pick Jai Serong (brother of Fremantle’s Caleb) is a 192cm forward.
They are both expected to get chances in the club’s pair of pre-season games, with the Hawks also attempting to sort out the ruck pecking order.
Ex-Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek has been exceptional across the summer but with only three goals in 15 AFL games is not seen as a prototypical ruck-forward.
Ex-Pie Max Lynch has kicked goals in recent match scrimmages, while Ned Reeves is returning from an August shoulder reconstruction after showing strong form as a centre-square tap ruckman.
The club also has mid-season pick up Max Ramsden as a 202cm ruckman and the 19-year-old has an excellent tank that the club hopes will allow him to make it as an AFL player.
Coach Sam Mitchell made clear this week the club had not had strong success with playing a smaller second ruckman in 2021 and was less likely to play two rucks every week.
It means one of Reeves or Lynch might have to establish themselves as a forward-ruck to be able to play regularly if Meek continues his pre-season form across the 2022 season.
The Hawks will travel to Gippsland on Tuesday night for a three-day camp that will include multiple training sessions and a Wednesday junior clinic in Morwell at 4pm.
The club will talk through its leadership structure at the camp before announcing its captaincy.
Defender James Sicily the leading candidate for the captaincy but Sam Mitchell made clear last week the decision would come after a club-based discussion and not a strict player vote.
Bombers rejoicing as important cog set to return
Essendon expects tall forward Peter Wright to resume running this week after being cleared of serious injury following a scare at training last week.
The Bombers confirmed Wright had only experienced tightness in his calf, which the club said had settled well over the players’ short late-January break.
Wright gave Bombers’ fans a scare last Wednesday when he left the training track early during the club’s match simulation session with a calf issue.
Precautionary scans have since cleared the 203cm forward of any serious damage to his calf.
After a five-day break, the Bombers’ players will return to the club on Tuesday.
The Bombers said Wright was expected to be back running this week.
Essendon’s reigning club champion, 26-year-old Wright is coming off a career-best season when he kicked 53 goals.
He finished fifth in the Coleman Medal race behind Carlton’s Charlie Curnow, Tiger Tom Lynch and Geelong premiership pair Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins.
‘Spirals down quickly’: Lion running out of answers
Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko has revealed how sidelined teammate Marcus Adams “spirals down really quickly” when he attempts to run as he battles lingering concussion symptoms.
Adams is unlikely to play this season as he continues to struggle with concussion-related issues almost six months after they surfaced.
The Lions moved the defender to their inactive list in mid-January and have all but put a line through his 2023 campaign.
Adams sustained a delayed concussion after playing against Carlton in round 21 and then missed the remainder of the season.
Zorko said a bulked-up Adams was spending time in the Lions’ gym, but whenever he tried to build up his running, his condition spiralled down again.
“I don’t think they are putting a return date, if any return date for this season, I think he’s just going to go on the long-term injury list and try and get his head right,” Zorko said on SEN.
“Just having conversations with him in the gym, he still comes in and lifts weights and he’s thick, he’s a big boy. If you think he was big on the field, he’s massive now. He’s benching double what I reckon he used to, he’s enormous.
“But as soon as he starts that running process it spirals down really, really quickly.
“It is (scary). As he said, no one has the answers for us at the moment. But he just slowly builds and every time he finds the peak it sort of spirals down pretty quickly for him.
“Hopefully, he’ll do a few things for us around the club this year, obviously non-strenuous and hopefully we can get him back.”
Adams, 29, played 18 games for the Lions last season and ranked above average for key defenders for disposals and intercept marks.
The backman’s move to the inactive list opened up a spot in the Lions’ squad, which the club filled when it signed former St Kilda defender Darragh Joyce via the pre-season supplemental selection period.
The Irishman, who played 13 games in six years with the Saints, signed a one-year deal with the Lions.
Originally published as AFL news 2023: Matt Guelfi suffers strained calf muscle
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