Dogs big forward may need face surgery
A Western Bulldogs forward is in serious doubt for the upcoming finals series after suffering a depressed fracture of his cheekbone. He copped the injury in Cairns on Sunday night against Fremantle.
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Star Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton is in serious doubt for the upcoming finals series after suffering a depressed fracture of his cheekbone.
The high-leaping forward headed straight to a local Cairns hospital on Sunday night, following a Sean Darcy hip and shoulder late in the second term in their contest against Fremantle.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge revealed Naughton is likely to have surgery and will face a race against time to be fit and ready for their first finals contest.
“It is just where it is, sometimes players can almost play next week, or even in two weeks time, but if it is up around the eye socket, it can be a little bit worse,” Beveridge said.
“We have not got any confirmation on where it is, it is pretty firm that he has a depressed fracture of his cheekbone.
“If Naughts’ is minor and it is just the cheek, then hopefully he will be ready for the first final, but if it is up a bit higher, I think it might be a bit more serious.”
If Naughton is to have surgery on his face, it will be his second time under the knife in 2020, after missing a large chunk of the season early on following ankle surgery.
The Bulldogs tried defenders Alex Keath and Zaine Cordy up forward at times in the second half with Naughton hurt and Beveridge said they could be an option if he does not return in the finals, or they could go with a smaller line-up.
“We would need some aerial prowess … we have been setting ourselves as a team that would win a final,” Beveridge said.
“We now need to determine if we have one of those lads forward or we pick one of our bigger boys that are waiting in the wings, or we play with a smaller forward line.
“There are some decisions that need to be made.”
Milestone man Mitch Wallis suffered a slight shoulder concern late on, but Beveridge said his gun small forward would be fine.
Beveridge said his club now enter the finals series with a “nothing to lose” mentality.
The Bulldogs face a nervous wait on who they will face in the opening week of the finals, as it could be West Coast or St Kilda, pending on the result of the Collingwood and Port Adelaide clash on Monday night.
A Port Adelaide victory would hand the ‘Doggies a date with the Saints and avoid a trip across the Nullarbor.
Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli, who kicked a goal and collected 20 touches in the Sunday night victory over Fremantle that sealed their finals spot, said with finals on the horizon, a grinding performance will do his club the world of good.
“It was a challenging game, it was a good contest that we had to grind out,” Bontempelli said on Fox Footy.
“In these sorts of games, you just have to stick to it and it will come, just keep pressing the ball forward.
“We were expecting these conditions, it got slippery as the game went on.”
Bontempelli noted the effort regular defender Keath put in when he was thrust forward after halftime, helping to fill the void of impressive youngster Naughton, who suffered a head knock and went to hospital.
Originally published as Dogs big forward may need face surgery