Collingwood looks likely to welcome back a host of stars in time for the Richmond clash
A RESURGENT Collingwood could have access to its quartet of hamstrung stars for Sunday week’s clash with Richmond to help ease the brutal turnaround after Wednesday’s Anzac Day game against Essendon.
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A RESURGENT Collingwood could have access to its quartet of hamstrung players Taylor Adams, Jamie Elliott, Darcy Moore and Josh Smith for Sunday week’s clash with Richmond, which may help the club deal with a brutal four-day back up after Wednesday’s Anzac Day game against Essendon.
The Magpies will almost certainly need to make changes off the quick back-up, and the club’s general manager of football Geoff Walsh has forecast all four are on track to be playing football within the next fortnight.
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Anzac Day falling on a Wednesday this year means Collingwood will have to play three games in 16 days by the end of Round 6, for Essendon it will be even worse with three games in 14 days.
“We are pleasingly getting into a stage where the guys who are out injured are very close to resuming,” Walsh said. “The pleasing thing that came out of (last weekend) was that we didn’t add to the injury list.
Smith suffered a torn hamstring in the Round 1 loss to Hawthorn, while Moore was injured a week later in the clash against Greater Western Sydney. Elliott and Adams could not get through training last week with low-grade hamstring issues and both missed last Friday’s victory over Adelaide.
“They are all guys that are looking at somewhere around the Richmond game,” Walsh told the club’s website. “We have got the Anzac Day game and four days later is the Richmond game, (so) there is a possibility that all or some of those guys will resume around that time, if not then certainly the week after.”
“They are all on the verge of returning.”
Walsh has conceded there will be some attrition between the Bombers and Tigers games, but will look at each game in isolation in terms of selection.
Daniel Wells played three quarters in his VFL comeback last week, and will once more play in the state league this week, as he fights to regain match conditioning.
Levi Greenwood, who hasn’t played this year due to a knee issue, could be back playing in the VFL within the next week or two.
Greenwood is finally pain-free after a slow build up to the season following pre-season knee surgery.
“The pain that he (Greenwood) has been experiencing over the previous month is diminishing quite significantly,” Walsh said. “He is running freer and being able to train with a bit more freedom than he has in the past.”
Kayle Kirby is “still on light duties” after collapsing during a VFL game two weeks ago, due to an irregular heartbeat. He has undergone more scans and the club expects to have a clearer understanding of his issue next week.
This is the first time the Magpies have had to deal with a four-day break involving Anzac Day since coach Nathan Buckley’s first season as coach in 2012.
They made two changes that year between a Friday night match against Port Adelaide and the Wednesday clash with Essendon, which the Magpies won by a point with a late goal to Jarryd Blair.
More than 90,000 people are expected to attend on Anzac Day, and if the Magpies can make it three straight wins for the first time since the late stages of last season a huge crowd could also be expected for the Richmond game at the MCG.
The Bombers will take on Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday week, with the Tigers and Demons set to clash next Tuesday, on Anzac Eve.
Originally published as Collingwood looks likely to welcome back a host of stars in time for the Richmond clash
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