GWS Giants hopeful Josh Kelly will be fit to play against Collingwood
THE Giants’ hopes of an upset win over Collingwood have moved a shade closer to reality with superstar midfielder Josh Kelly still a chance of lining up in Saturday night’s semi-final.
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THE Giants’ hopes of an upset win over Collingwood have moved a shade closer to reality with superstar midfielder Josh Kelly still a chance of lining up in Saturday night’s semi-final at the MCG.
A better than expected recovery has Leon Cameron optimistic of the rising superstar’s chances despite playing just a quarter of the Giants’ 49-point belting of the Swans.
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Cameron revealed Kelly’s knee injury was pre-existing and the knock had inflamed the joint.
“There’s no doubt his knee has a little tear in the meniscus,” Cameron told SEN radio.
“It’s something he’s been carrying the last year or two. He is a minor chance of playing this week but we are going to give him every chance because he’s settled well.”
If Kelly doesn’t recover in time Cameron will be hoping his team can squeeze past the Magpies and have the star midfielder available for a preliminary final showdown against Richmond next Friday night back at the MCG.
“There is still a good chance Josh Kelly will be playing again this year,” Cameron said.
“You’d have to say it’s a better result (than expected) and touch-wood we would love to have a bit of luck with him. The way he presented yesterday it was a bit better than we probably thought. Knowing Josh, he’s he’ll-bent on playing footy especially in September and he’ll be doing everything possible.”
Former Western Bulldogs skipper Ryan Griffen is Kelly’s likely replacement with Aiden Bonar also in contention to come into the team.
Griffen strained his hamstring in the Giants’ Round 22 loss to Sydney at Spotless Stadium but was available for Saturday night’s elimination final.
“Ryan would have been ready to play, we just wanted to increase his loads,” GWS high performance manager David Joyce said.
“He’s ticked every single box, he’s sprinted he had an outstanding session in excess of 10km on Saturday. He’s locked and loaded and ready to be selected this weekend.”
Joyce and the Giants conditioning staff will be buoyed by the success of all four inclusions for Saturday’s elimination final. Toby Greene was close to best on ground and Zac Williams was remarkable in his first senior game for the year, while Matt de Boer and Brett Deledio also played important roles in the convincing victory after long spells on the sidelines.
If GWS do make it through to the preliminary final they will have a close to full-strength side to pick from with Aiden Corr (groin), Sam Taylor (hamstring) and Dawson Simpson (ankle) all listed as tests for this weekend.