EFL 2019: South Croydon pair Jake Tucker and Chris Jones likely to miss remainder of Eastern Football League season

South Croydon is preparing to be without two of its bookend players for the rest of the Eastern Football League season after long-term injuries to Jake Tucker and Chris Jones.

Jake Tucker has led South Croydon’s goalkicking for the past three years. Picture: Andy Brownbill

South Croydon is preparing to be without its bookends for the rest of the Eastern Football League season.

Jake Tucker and Chris Jones are likely to miss the remainder of the campaign with serious knee injuries.

It’s feared Tucker suffered an ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in Saturday’s loss to Rowville, while Jones avoided surgery after hyperextending his knee in the Round 1 defeat against Balwyn but faces an extended stint on the sidelines.

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Tucker has kicked 156 goals since the start of 2016 and has been the Bulldogs’ leading goalkicker for the past three years.

Chris Jones takes a mark for Box Hill Hawks during his time in the VFL. Picture: Mark Dadswell

Jones was set to fill an important role in defence after signing with the club full-time this season from Box Hill Hawks.

South Croydon coach Luke McCormick said it was unsure how long the club would be without Jones for.

“We’re hoping the best-case scenario is about 10 weeks but we don’t know,” McCormick said.

“It could be worse, we’re obviously not going to risk it … it could be it’s still 10, 15, 16, it could be the season.

“At this stage we’re just banking on being a long time without them.”

Premiers in 2017 and grand finalists last year, South Croydon is winless from the first two games of the season and staring down the barrel of a 0-3 start.

Luke McCormick in the huddle for South Croydon. Picture: Stuart Milligan

Since the EFL went to a top-five system in 2007, only twice (Norwood in 2010 and Knox in 2011) has a top-tier side made finals after dropping its first three games.

The Round 2 defeat against Rowville was South Croydon’s biggest since the 2017 semi-final.

The Bulldogs’ Anzac Day clash against Blackburn at Cheong Park shapes as a season-defining clash if they want to keep their hopes of a third consecutive grand final appearance alive.

“The group is resilient as we saw last year, but more than that, it’s more that we’re hunted every week,” McCormick said.

“Sides are going to be coming after us because of that success — as per the other sides that have played finals the last couple of years.

“It’s up to us to be able to meet the challenge … obviously it hasn’t been a great start and that’s what we need to do.

“Sides certainly set themselves for us … the challenge is for us to step up again.”

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