EDFL 2019: Westmeadows captain Robbie Castello set to return in August

Westmeadows has poured cold water on speculation surrounding captain Robbie Castello’s hamstring injury, with the star midfielder set to return before a likely finals appearance.

Robbie Castello has starred for Westmeadows this season. Picture:Rob Leeson

Westmeadows have allayed fears captain Robbie Castello is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines.

Castello suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the Tigers’ Round 12 clash with flag rival Craigieburn, sparking speculation his season could be over.

But the star midfielder is likely to return for his side’s EDFL Division 1 fixture against Taylors Lakes on August 3, which would give him three regular season games before finals.

Castello has been one of Westmeadows’ standouts in 2019 after crossing from Maribyrnong Park, with his leadership proving invaluable for a young group.

“It’s not anything worse than a normal hammy,” Tigers coach Grant Smith said.

“He had soreness in it for a couple of weeks. It’s probably due to the grounds, just them being so heavy and him doing so much work through the midfield.

“Leigh Owen, who plays in our backline, is a physio, so he’s been assessing him and treating him as well.

“He’s just said it’s a fatigue-related hamstring and he just needs to get some treatment.”

Castello had a three-week break earlier in the season to deal with the soreness, missing a match against Roxburgh Park in June before a competition-wide break for Queen’s Birthday weekend and a bye.

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Smith said he was hopeful the break would serve Castello well before finals.

While Westmeadows could still mathematically miss the top four, they are in the box seat to finish ahead of Hillside and West Coburg and feature beyond the home-and-away campaign for the first time since 2016.

Smith conceded his team had lost a slight edge in recent weeks, with the difficult winter conditions and injuries factors.

The Tigers will meet East Keilor, Taylors Lakes, Hillside and Roxburgh Park in their remaining fixtures, having already tackled premiership fancies Tullamarine and Craigieburn twice.

“I guess we’re not going to know what the top five looks like until the last round,” Smith said.

“We’ve probably got the top-four sides out of the way reasonably early in the back half of the season, then we can have a bit of a look and see where everyone else is finishing up.

“What we’re focusing on now is making sure we decide where we finish up, rather than letting (other) results decide for us. It’s just about winning games for us.”

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