EFL: Balwyn recruits Cameron Manuel and Charlie Haley set to miss most of the season with injury
BALWYN will be without two of its star recruits for most of the season, leaving the Tigers at risk of missing their first Eastern Football League finals series since joining the competition in 2007.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
BALWYN will be without two of its star recruits for most of the season, leaving the Tigers at risk of missing their first Eastern Football League finals series since joining the competition in 2007.
Chandler medallist Cameron Manuel and 2017 Team of the Year forward Charlie Haley are set for extended stints on the sidelines after suffering long-term injuries against Blackburn.
Manuel has a dislocated rib and could miss up to 10 weeks, while Haley suffered an ankle injury after attempting a high-flying mark in the Round 6 fixture and will also miss at least two months.
Their injuries mean Balwyn is without five of its star recruits, with Ayden Kennedy set to miss the campaign with ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and former Gold Coast duo Henry Schade and Daniel Gorringe departing before the season.
Henry Schade and Daniel Gorringe leave Balwyn
Rodney Eade to coach Balwyn in EFL
The Tigers are also hardly flushed with depth — their seconds sit at the bottom of the Division 1 ladder and the under-19s have just one win for the season.
Balwyn football director Paul Johnson said the likes of Jack Kimber, Sam Vander Haar and Danny Baglava would be given senior opportunities.
“The other boys have just got to stand up and try get to as high a position on the ladder as we can and work hard,” Johnson said.
“We’re hoping to get a couple from the VFL, that’s really where we are relying now — we signed Max Warren but he is still a couple away, unfortunately.
“A couple of kids will get a go … a couple of boys who probably haven’t been flying have got to start putting their hands up and take on a bigger role.”
Johnson said Manuel, who was crowned the competition’s best and fairest player in 2016, and Haley were “both huge losses”.
“Charlie just gave us that little bit of difference up there so we are obviously nowhere near as dangerous without him,” he said.
“The boys are going have to respond as a team and play to instructions.”
MORE EFL NEWS
Croydon reflects on the 40th anniversary of player Peter Liddy’s tragic on-field passing
Dual flag Cat, ex-Pies livewire light up local footy carnival
A two-time premiership Cat and a ex-Collingwood favourite were in action as players from across the state locked horns in a First Nations sports carnival.
‘Going for some elite talent’: AFL utility joins Castlemaine
Castlemaine has already signed two star recruits, including a former GWS Giant, but coach Michael Hartley feels he is “talking to most of Victoria” to add more names.