EFL 2019: Chris Phelan to miss Division 1 finals series
One of Doncaster East’s marquee signings will miss the EFL Division 1 finals series as he recovers from a broken jaw earlier this month. Watch the incident.
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Doncaster East WAFL recruit Chris Phelan has been ruled out for the EFL Division 1 finals series as he recovers from a broken jaw.
Phelan was collected high by Knox’s Marcus Jordan in the first quarter of the Round 16 fixture at Zerbes Reserve.
Jordan was issued a yellow card and handed a four-week ban following an EFL investigation.
Doncaster East coach Steve Buckle said Phelan was unlikely to return for finals.
“It was broken in two places and he’s on a soup diet for the next five weeks,” Buckle said.
“He can’t really eat any solids. We’ve basically ruled him out.
“It would be a bonus if we got him back but we’re not holding our breath.”
Buckle said Phelan came from the ground with blood in his mouth “and was complaining his back teeth were loose”.
The former Subiaco star played out the game before undergoing surgery the following week.
It was only revealed that he had broken his jaw during a visit to the dentist after the match.
“He’s a fair chance of missing out on a grand final, if we can get there,” Buckle said.
“To be fair, Marcus Jordan took it on the chin and I think he was very apologetic at the time. “I think he has contacted Chris and (former Knox coach) Dave Madigan has contacted me.
“They’ve handled it pretty well.”
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Doncaster East is chasing promotion to the league’s top tier for the first time in club history and Phelan’s state league experience could have been significant in September.
Phelan played in Subiaco’s 2014, 2015 and 2018 flag wins, was club champion in 2014 and 2016 and was a four-time WAFL Team of the Year member during a 169-game career.
Buckle rated Phelan a 10 to 20 per cent chance of making a comeback in finals.
“We’re still holding out a glimmer of hope but there’s really not much hope,” he said.
“It’s a big loss but hopefully we can cover him because we’ve at least had some time to get used to not playing with him.”
Knox president Jane Barbanti said Jordan had apologised to Phelan.
“It’s obviously not something you ever want to see happen to a player,” Barbanti said.
“I know our player is very remorseful over it. My heart goes out to him (Phelan) that he is going to miss finals.”
The winner of Saturday’s qualifying final between Croydon and Lilydale will meet Doncaster East in the second semi-final on August 31 at Tormore Reserve.
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