AFL 2022: Injury news and updates throughout round 11
Versatile Collingwood veteran Jordan Roughead has notified teammates of his immediate retirement, with injuries halting his career on 201 games.
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Collingwood will be able to use two selections in Wednesday night’s midseason rookie draft following the retirement of veteran defender Jordan Roughead.
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The popular backman and premiership Bulldog told Magpies’ teammates about 9am he was ending his career on 201 games after an injury-interrupted start to the season.
The Magpies already had one pick in the midseason draft and will now be able to pick up a second player if it wants, in particular, to add to their key position stocks.
Roughead has been a sensational pickup from the kennel for the Magpies in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2018.
He was lauded for his selflessness and leadership at the Magpies after helping steer the Bulldogs to a premiership in 2016 from the ruck despite a nasty eye injury.
Roughead’s versatility has been a key weapon over his career with the 31-year-old playing in the ruck and at both ends of the ground over his 13 seasons.
He has played one game this season.
Huge fears for flag star’s long-term future
Josh Barnes, Rebecca Williams and Jon Ralph
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says he fears for the long term fitness of Kane Lambert after the premiership star once again faces an extended stint on the sidelines due to a recurring hip injury.
While Simon Goodwin says the call on whether Demons defenders Michael Hibberd and Christian Salem needed to return through the VFL would be soon made by the club.
And Hawthorn Ruck Ned Reeves and Will Day will both face fitness tests this week, with coach Sam Mitchell saying their recovery would also play a factor given the lengthy trip north.Should Reeves be sidelined, the Hawks face a rucking quandary with Suns star Jarrod Witts looming.
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ADELAIDE
Josh Rachele - corked thigh - Test
Rory Sloane - knee - Season
Paul Seedsman - concussion - Ongoing
Defender Jordon Butts should return for the Crows for their trip to Geelong this weekend.
No. 6 draft pick Josh Rachele will be on a modified training program this week as he seeks to recover from a corked thighagainst the Saints.
Crows high performance manager Darren Burgess said Josh Rachele would be assessed again after Wednesday’s main training sessionto determine his availability for the game against the Cats.
“Josh sustained a reasonable quad cork and he’ll be managed this week and we’ll see how he goes,” Burgess said.
“We’ll give him every chance to come up for the weekend, he will do a modified session on Wednesday and give him every chanceto train on Friday and play on Saturday.”
-Simeon Thomas-Wilson
BRISBANE
Joe Daniher - Shoulder - 3-4 weeks
Kai Lohmann - Ankle - 2-3 weeks
Hugh McCluggage - Hamstring - Test
Dan McStay - Ankle - Test
Captain Dayne Zorko said it would be a matter of “wait and see” if midfielder Hugh McCluggage played this weekend after hurting his hamstringagainst Hawthorn.
“These little niggles happen to him – Hughie’s renowned for it,” he said.
“He’s done everything right over the pre-season to give his body the best chance.
“He’ll probably train on Thursday and see how he pulls up after that.
“He deserves right up the game day to get the best opportunity to play.”
Zorko said tall forward Dan McStay, who has missed Brisbane’s past two matches with an ankle injury, could return this weekend.
“He seems pretty optimistic ... but we certainly won’t be taking any risks with him,” he said.
-Marco Monteverde
CARLTON
David Cuningham - Knee - TBC
Ed Curnow - Calf - 2-3 weeks
Caleb Marchbank - Knee - Test
Jack Martin - Calf - Test
Oscar McDonald - Back - Season
Mitch McGovern - Hamstring - 7-9 weeks
Harry McKay- Knee - 4 weeks
Alex Mirkov - Ankle - 1-2 weeks
Jack Newnes - Soreness - Test
Luke Parks - Foot - 10 weeks
Marc Pittonet - Knee - 4-8 weeks
Zac Williams - Calf - 9-11 weeks
COLLINGWOOD
Mason Cox - Finger - Test
Charlie Dean - Foot - 4-5 weeks
Brodie Grundy - Knee - 5-7 weeks
Ash Johnson - Hamstring - 2-3 weeks
Will Kelly - Hip - Test
Nathan Kreuger - Shoulder - 12 weeks
Jack Madgen - Shoulder - 5 weeks
Jordan Roughead - Finger - 1-2 weeks
Tom Wilson - Back - 3-4 months
ESSENDON
Jye Caldwell - Shoulder - Test
Nik Cox - Foot - 8-10 weeks
Matt Guelfi - Hamstring - TBC
Michael Hurley - Hip - Indefinite
Kyle Langford - Hamstring - 1-2 weeks
Jordan Ridley - H&S protocols - Test
Dylan Shiel - Calf - TBC
Will Snelling - Calf - 1-2 weeks
James Stewart - Calf - Test
Jake Stringer - Hamstring - 1-2 weeks
Patrick Voss - Foot - 3-4 weeks
Essendon will attempt to build on its fighting loss to Richmond despite losing Matt Guelfi (hamstring) and Mason Redman (suspension) ahead of the club’s away clash against Port Adelaide.
The Dons are desperate to show some improvement in the back half of the season and should regain Jake Stringer, Will Snellingand Kyle Langford after the bye.
Michael Hurley, out indefinitely with his hip issues, is still a long way from AFL contention as the Dons consider their mid-seasondraft position.
But he is keen to continue to push for a late-season game as he recovers from a calf complaint on top of his long-runningissues.
The Dons have secured one spot with the retirement of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and could make room for another if theyput Nik Cox (lisfranc injury) onto the long-term injury list.
Harrison Jones is considered a strong chance to come into the Essendon team after returning from injury through the VFL, withthe exciting forward one of the bright sparks in the club’s season last year.
Best-and-fairest winner Jordan Ridley is also available after Covid last week, with the defender showing few symptoms andcertain to take on Port Adelaide.
-Jon Ralph
FREMANTLE
Nat Fyfe - back - 1-2 weeks
Joel Western - hamstring - 3-4 weeks
Nathan O’Driscoll - foot - TBA
Jye Amiss - kidney - TBA
Fremantle forward Jye Amiss is in doubt for the rest of the season after undergoing kidney surgery following a significant injury from Saturday’s Peel-South Fremantle WAFL clash.
The Dockers said Amiss faced a “long stint on the sidelines” following the injury which comes just weeks after he made a promising two goal AFL debut against North Melbourne in round eight.
Kidney damage is considered at the more serious end of football injuries.
Meanwhile, club captain, champion and dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe has been set for “either or both” Fremantle’s back-to-back home games against Brisbane and Hawthorn as his return from shoulder and back surgery grows closer.
-Mark Duffield/West Australian
GEELONG
Jon Ceglar - Foot - 4 weeks
Patrick Dangerfield - Calf - 2-3 weeks
Jack Henry - Foot - TBC
Shaun Higgins - General soreness - Test
Max Holmes - Ankle - TBC
Flynn Kroeger - Wrist - TBC
Sam Menegola - Knee - Test
Quinton Narkle - Ankle - Test
Esava Ratugolea - Ankle - 4 weeks
Sam Simpson - Concussion - TBC
Rhys Stanley - Ankle - Test
Nick Stevens - Foot - TBC
Paul Tsapatolis - Ankle - Test
Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield is unlikely to play until the mid-season bye as the Cats put him through a trainingblock to build up fitness in his troublesome calf.
Dangerfield was subbed out of Saturday’s win over Port Adelaide after aggravating a calf injury that has dogged the Brownlowmedallist all season.
Having hobbled through finals campaigns in recent seasons, Geelong has been resolute this year that it will favour restingand training up players to be fit when it counts and Cats medical boss Harry Taylor said Dangerfield would be kept on thetraining track and out of games for the next fortnight.
-Josh Barnes
GOLD COAST
Jy Farrar - Concussion - 1 week
Josh Corbett - Hip - 4 weeks
Jack Lukosius - Knee - 4 weeks
Rory Thompson - Knee - TBA
Ben King - Knee - Season
Bodhi Uwland - Back - Indefinite
GWS
Conor Stone - Hamstring - TBC
Lachie Whitfield - Ankle - Test
Tim Taranto - Back - 1 week
Finn Callaghan - Shoulder - 1 week
Daniel Lloyd - Arm - 2-3 weeks
Phil Davis - Hamstring - 2-4 weeks
Jacob Hopper - Knee - 4-6 weeks
Brent Daniels - Hamstring - 4-6 weeks
Jack Buckley - Knee - 5-7 weeks
Josh Fahey - Shoulder - Season
HAWTHORN
Jack Scrimshaw - shoulder - test
Will Day - ankle - test
Ned Reeves - shoulder - test
Emerson Jeka - hamstring - 4 weeks
Jack Gunston - ankle - 4-6 weeks
Tom Phillips - ankle - 5 weeks
Ben McEvoy - neck - TBC
Max Lynch - concussion - TBC
Josh Ward - concussion - TBC
Tyler Brockman - shoulder - season
Ruck Ned Reeves and Will Day will both face fitness tests this week, with coach Sam Mitchell saying their recovery would also play a factor given the lengthy trip north.Should Reeves be sidelined, the Hawks face a rucking quandary with Suns star Jarrod Witts looming.
Tall Max Lynch was at the club on Wednesday but continues to battle concussion symptoms following his knock on Sunday against Brisbane, with his recent torrid run with a previous concussion, Covid protocols, an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting and this latest concussion compounded by a bout of food poisoning.
“He’s going to get back from this, and he’s going to be a really important player for us later on in this season,” Mitchell said.
“We’re looking forward to getting him back for the long term, because he’s had enough bad luck to last him for a couple more years.”
-Lauren Wood
MELBOURNE
Jack Viney - Hamstring - Test
Ed Langdon - Ribs - Test
Michael Hibberd - Calf - Test
Christian Salem - Knee - 1 Week
James Harmes - Hamstring - 1-2 Weeks
Joel Smith - Foot - 6-7 Weeks
Blake Howes - Foot - 7-9 Weeks
The ladder leaders will soon welcome more reinforcements with James Harmes (hamstring), Christian Salem (knee) and Michael Hibberd (calf) available for selection from next week.
Salem has been sidelined since Round 1 and Harmes since Round 9, while Hibberd has not played a game this year.
Goodwin said the availability would turn up the pressure at the selection table.
“It’s tough in a whole range of areas and it is going to get tougher in the next few weeks, we have obviously got Jack Viney coming back this week, we have got James Harmers and Christian Salem and Michael HIbberd coming back next week,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin said the Demons would make a call on whether Hibberd and Salem needed to return through the VFL.
“We will wait and see how they train over the next few weeks,” Goodwin said.
“Hibbo’ would have played this week but the VFL have got a bye so he would have played some VFL footy.”
Goodwin said Viney was “ready to go” for the clash against the fourth-placed Dockers, while Langdon would be given right up until game time to prove his fitness after being cleared of internal damage from his rib injury.
-Rebecca Williams
NORTH MELBOURNE
Miller Bergman - Shoulder - Season
Aiden Bonar - Hamstring - 2 weeks
Charlie Comben - Knee - Test
Ben Cunnington - Testicular cancer - Indefinite
Eddie Ford - Ankle - 1 week
Aaron Hall - Hamstring - 1-2 weeks
Jack Mahony - Ankle - TBC
Ben McKay - Knee - 1-2 weeks
Will Phillips - Illness - Indefinite
Jared Polec - Foot - 1 week
Phoenix Spicer - Hamstring - 1 week
Curtis Taylor - Ribs - TBC
PORT ADELAIDE
Aliir Aliir - ankle - assess
Charlie Dixon – ankle - TBC
Xavier Duursma – neck/shoulder - assess
Orazio Fantasia – knee - 5-7 weeks
Scott Lycett – shoulder - assess
Trent McKenzie – knee - TBC
Josh Sinn – groin - 3-4 weeks
Ollie Wines – heart - TBC
Port Adelaide assistant coach Chad Cornes says he is “pretty confident” Charlie Dixon will be able to play AFL football this weekend but says Orazio Fantasia will now need at least one SANFL game.
The two star forwards haven’t played any matches for the Power this year after ankle and knee surgeries.
Dixon looks set for a return for the Power against Essendon on Sunday after he stepped up his comeback for the Magpies in the SANFL.
RICHMOND
Noah Balta - Hamstring - 2-3 weeks
Jack Graham - Toe - Test
Kane Lambert - Hip - 2-3 weeks
Tom Lynch - Hamstring - 3-4 weeks
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has outlined his long-term fears for premiership star Kane Lambert, with a career-ending hip replacement looming as the only solution to his painful injury.
Marlion Pickett will return from suspension and Jack Graham from a toe injury for the clash with Sydney at the SCG as the Tigers lose Lambert and key forward Tom Lynch until at least Round 14.
But Hardwick said whatever games Lambert, the three-time premiership player who continues to battle a hip issue, manages to play this year are a “bonus” given the extremes he is putting his body through just to get on the ground.
Lambert was subbed off in last week’s Dreamtime win over Essendon, with the coach revealing the 30-year-old went to him at halftime and said “I think I’m done”.
“Any time a great player is out you worry. We got four games out of him in a row, and it’s no coincidence we win all of those games,” Hardwick said on Wednesday.
“To see what he puts his body through and to see him walk out of those change rooms at the end, he gives everything. To see him come to me at halftime, he said “I think I’m done”, shows how hard he works to get up.
“He’ll have a good couple of weeks break ... hopefully refreshed for the second part of the year. Whatever games we get out of Kane are going to be a real bonus from here on in.
“Where it leaves him long term we are not too sure, but there are very few players who would be putting their bodies through what he does every week. I’ll be pushing our very best players to get back and he’s one of those. It’s just what he can put up with.”
ST KILDA
Nick Coffield - Knee - Season
Dan Hannebery - Calf - Indefinite
Jack Hayes - Knee - Season
Jack Higgins - Concussion - TBC
Jack Steele - Shoulder - 5-7 weeks
Mercurial St Kilda forward Jack Higgins will miss a second consecutive week due to the AFL’s Health and Safety protocols.
Higgins sat out last week’s win over Adelaide due to a concussion he suffered in the game against Geelong. It was the smallforward’s second concussion this year.
The Saints have the round 12 bye so it will mean Higgins will miss a month of football all up.
Saints captain Jack Steele is still five to seven weeks away from returning from his shoulder injury.
SYDNEY
Harry Cunningham - Abdominal - TBC
Josh Kennedy - Hamstring - 8-10 weeks
Sam Naismith - Knee - Season
Angus Sheldrick - Knee - 3 weeks
Sydney champion Josh Kennedy faces an uphill battle to be part of the Swans’ likely finals campaign, with a serious hamstringinjury set to sideline him for multiple months.
Kennedy suffered tendon damage in his right hamstring in a crude spoiling attempt on Carlton defender Sam Docherty that alsosaw him suspended for one match.
His sanction is of little consequence, given the 289-game veteran faces at least eight and possibly 10 weeks on the sidelinesrecovering from the worst injury of his career.
But Sydney will regain James Rowbottom from his own one-match rough conduct ban.
-Marc McGowan
WEST COAST
Oscar Allen - Foot - Inactive
Campbell Chesser - Ankle - Inactive
Tom Cole - Ankle - Inactive
Luke Edwards - Groin - Inactive
Luke Foley - Concussion - 1 week
Shannon Hurn - Calf - 1 week
Tom Joyce - Ankle - 6-7 weeks
Josh Kennedy - Knee - Test
Zac Langdon - Ankle - TBC
Xavier O’Neill - Knee - 4-5 weeks
Nic Naitanui - Knee - 6-7 weeks
Jack Petruccelle - Hamstring - 2-3 weeks
Willie Rioli - Hamstring - 2-3 weeks
Liam Ryan - Hamstring - 2 weeks
Dom Sheed - Ankle - Test
Luke Shuey - Back - Test
Luke Strnadica - Calf - 1-2 weeks
Josh Kennedy and Luke Shuey remain on track to take on the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
Dom Sheed and Elliot Yeo are also still scheduled to make their return to the field through the WAFL this weekend.They will be on managed minutes with Sheed returning from a preseason injury while Yeo has been out since he suffered a concussion in round six, and then entered the AFL’s Health and Safety Protocols. Shannon Hurn, Willie Rioli, Liam Ryan, Jack Petruccelle and Luke Foley should all be pushing for selection in the coming weeks.
-Aaron Kirby/West Australian
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Tim English - Illness - test
Jason Johannisen - Calf - test
Cody Weightman -Collarbone - test
Taylor Duryea - Illness - test
Mitch Wallis - Foot - test
Riley Garcia - Knee - 1-2 weeks
Stefan Martin -Shoulder - 1-2 weeks
Josh Bruce -Knee - 4-5 weeks
Toby McLean - Knee - 4-5 weeks
Laitham Vandermeer - Hamstring - 5-6 weeks
Mitch Hannan - Concussion - indefinite
Lachie Hunter - Personal - indefinite
Western Bulldogs’ ruckman Tim English will play against West Coast as theymove on from Luke Beveridge’s umpire comments on Saturday.
Beveridge confirmed on Wednesday that English would play his first game in five weeks against struggling West Coast on Saturday night with Cody Weightman also pushing to return despite breaking his collarbone less than three weeks ago.
The return of English comes after five games on the sidelines first with a hamstring injury then a sever bout of the flu which has taken out numerous players at the Bulldogs.
Beveridge said there had been “good signs” from his team, winning three of the past four games after dealing with significant illness issues and injuries made consistency at selection difficult.
“We’ve got 38 at training which is good numbers in comparison to a month ago so that’s a good sign,” he said.
“But that’s now, hopefully we can sustain that.”
Weightman broke his collarbone in round 8 and has missed two weeks but could make a push to play again this week.
The Dogs will be desperate to get the exciting young forward back up and in form and if he is not ready this week he shouldplay the following Friday night against Geelong.
Taylor Duryea, a late out with illness against Gold Coast, should also be available for the West Coast clash.
-Jon Ralph
Bad news for superstar as Cats reveal Danger return date
Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield is unlikely to play until the mid-season bye as the Cats put him through a training block to build up fitness in his troublesome calf.
Dangerfield was subbed out of Saturday’s win over Port Adelaide after aggravating a calf injury that has dogged the Brownlow medallist all season.
Having hobbled through finals campaigns in recent seasons, Geelong has been resolute this year that it will favour resting and training up players to be fit when it counts and Cats medical boss Harry Taylor said Dangerfield would be kept on the training track and out of games for the next fortnight.
Geelong plays Adelaide at home this week before a Friday night clash with the Western Bulldogs, which leads into the club’s mid-season bye.
Dangerfield came into the Power clash after a bout of illness and was limited to 18 disposals before he was subbed out and on multiple occasions appeared not to trust his trademark explosive pace around stoppages.
“It is likely that a couple of weeks of training now would better serve Pat and provide the conditioning base required for the remainder of the season,” Taylor said.
Dangerfield missed rounds 6 and 7 through calf soreness, after carrying the issue through early rounds and aggravating it on Easter Monday against Hawthorn.
Cats coach Chris Scott said the eight-time All-Australian was held out of those games because he hadn’t spent enough time on the training track in the lead-in to the match.
Geelong will hope ruck Rhys Stanley (ankle) and midfielder Quinton Narkle (ankle) return against Adelaide after both were initially selected to play against Port Adelaide but were withdrawn late.
“Rhys and Quinton were given every opportunity to play against Port Adelaide but unfortunately didn’t tick off the relevant medical and conditioning tests prior to the game,” Taylor said.
Out-of-action midfielder Sam Menegola (knee) is yet to complete a full session of training, with the Cats to continue to wait on his progress, while defender Jack Henry (foot) continue to work on his running.
Both Max Holmes and Esava Ratugolea have begun running after their respective ankle surgeries.
Draftee Flynn Kroeger’s first taste of footy in the hoops ended on a sour note, with the big-bodied midfielder suffering a broken wrist in Geelong’s VFL win over Northern Bullants.
“Flynn unfortunately has a small fracture in his write that will be treated conservatively and we hope to see Flynn back out there in the medium term,” Taylor said.
Dees star in mix after rib blow
Melbourne wingman Ed Langdon remains a chance to play in the Demons’ clash against Fremantle on Saturday after being cleared of internal damage following a rib injury.
And former skipper Jack Viney is also in the frame to return against the Dockers after he was withdrawn last week due to hamstring soreness.
Langdon was subbed out of the Demons’ 47-point win over North Melbourne not long after a bruising tackle from Tarryn Thomas.
The Demons premiership winger received a free kick out of the incident and then snapped a goal but didn’t last much longer before he left the game with sore ribs.
Melbourne said on Monday Langdon had since been cleared of any internal damage to his lungs from the incident and will face a fitness test this week.
“Fortunately for Ed, he has been cleared of any internal damage to his lungs (but) he has sustained a rib injury,” Demons performance manager Selwyn Griffith said.
“We will continue to progress him as tolerated during the week to look to be available for this weekend.
“Jack Viney had some hamstring soreness towards the end of last week, he has progressed well and will look to integrate into full training this week to be available.”
Viney will also face a test this week ahead of the clash at the MCG.
Defender Michael Hibberd is also listed as a test as he pushes to make a return from a calf injury via the VFL.
The Demons said James Harmes will miss at least one more week with the hamstring injury he suffered against West Coast in Round 9 and Christian Salem (knee) remains another week away from match play.
Dogs’ reinforcements return for trip west
The Western Bulldogs could welcome back livewire forward Cody Weightman and ruckman Tim English against West Coast as they move on from Luke Beveridge’s umpire comments on Saturday.
The Dogs have put together their first back-to-back wins this season after a victory over Gold Coast that also put Aaron Naughton’s treatment into the spotlight.
Beveridge inferred there was a reason why Naughton didn’t have more impact in the second half when Sam Collins did a job on him after a three-goal first half.
Beveridge was trying to be subtle about the match-up but a series of edits have shown Collins was fiercely defending his opponent in a fair manner.
There is no larger conspiracy theory around those comments, with Beveridge coaching from ground level and feeling Naughton was deserving of more free kicks.
In a year in which coaches have been urged not to be critical of umpires, he felt it was a subtle way of getting his point across.
But the Dogs will quickly move on to their clash against West Coast, even if the free kick tally against Naughton in coming weeks will be scrutinised.
English is expected to take his spot in the side after a tight hamstring and a severe bout of the flu that led to him spending several days in hospital.
The ruckman was closely pursued by the Eagles, who at one stage believed he would make his way to the club, but instead will soon sign a new two-year deal in coming weeks.
Weightman broke his collarbone in round 8 and has missed two weeks but could make a push to play this week.
The Dogs will be desperate to get the exciting young forward back up and in form and if he is not ready this week, he should play the following Friday night against Geelong.
Taylor Duryea, a late out with illness against Gold Coast, should also be available for the West Coast clash.
Hawks hopeful after Day collision
– Rebecca Williams
Hawthorn is hopeful defender Will Day’s ankle injury is impact-based rather than structural as it confirmed ruckman Max Lynch would enter concussion protocols.
Both casualties of the Hawks’ five-point win over Brisbane in Launceston on Sunday, Day was subbed out of the match after hurting his ankle when he collided with the fence.
The Hawks confirmed the injury was to the same ankle Day had surgery on last year.
The club said it would assess Day’s injury during the week, but it was optimistic he had not suffered any structural damage.
Hawthorn also confirmed on Monday that Lynch had suffered a concussion against the Lions after the former Magpie left the game late and did not return.
He will now enter the league’s enforced 12-day concussion protocols.
It was Lynch’s second concussion incident for the year after he was subbed out of his first game for the Hawks against North Melbourne in round 1.
The concussion came after a performance Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell described as the best game of Lynch’s AFL career to date.
“I thought Maxy Lynch was really strong for us and had a really strong performance in the ruck,” Mitchell said.
“I thought he did a great job against, I think he did a great job against, I think they had five 200cm players in their team and we only had Lynchy really in that category.
“So I was really pleased that he was able to put in probably his best AFL game to this stage.”
Bombers forced into more changes
– Jon Ralph
Essendon will attempt to build on its fighting loss to Richmond despite losing Matt Guelfi (hamstring) and Mason Redman (suspension) ahead of the club’s away clash against Port Adelaide.
The Dons are desperate to show some improvement in the back half of the season and should regain Jake Stringer, Will Snelling and Kyle Langford after the club’s round 12 bye.
Michael Hurley, out indefinitely with his hip issues, is still a long way from AFL contention as the Dons consider their mid-season draft position.
But he is keen to continue to push for a late-season game as he recovers from a calf complaint on top of his long-running issues.
The Dons have one vacant list spot with the retirement of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and could make room for another if they put Nik Cox (lisfranc injury) onto the long-term injury list.
Harrison Jones is considered a strong chance to come into the Essendon team after returning from injury through the VFL, with the exciting forward one of the bright sparks in the club’s season last year.
Best-and-fairest winner Jordan Ridley is also available after missing last week through Covid protocols, with the defender showing few symptoms and certain to take on Port Adelaide.
The Dons continue to review all aspects of their club after a 2-8 start to the season as they look for reasons for the miserable start to the season.
Essendon signed up young key defender Zac Reid on Monday on a three-year contract extension.
The Dons will now attempt to broker a deal with 2020 national draft selection Archie Perkins, having already signed up Reid last week on a new extension.
Redman will miss the club’s away clash against Port Adelaide after an ill-timed attempt to fly the flag against Richmond star Dion Prestia.
An Essendon side accused of being weak and meek the previous week clearly attempted to be more physical in the Dreamtime at the ’G game.
But Redman’s elbow to the neck of Prestia as the pair jousted just before halftime has resulted in a one-week ban.
The neck and head are both assessed as high contact, and the intentional strike was seen as low impact rather than medium given Prestia played on.
The low force, high impact, careless suspension sees Redman outed for a week and missing the clash against the Power.
Essendon’s system was again lacking against Richmond, but the Dons fought out the contest before losing by 32 points to drop to 2-8 for the season.
President Paul Brasher was seen in deep discussion with AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan pre-match as he seeks reasons for the club’s horror slump after last year’s finals campaign.
Brasher is expected to address the members on Monday about the club’s attempts to right the ship, with the Dons not launching an official review but leaving no stone unturned as they analyse every aspect of their football program.
Richmond forward Tom Lynch collected Essendon’s Matt Guelfi high with a spoil in a collision that drew a strong reaction from Dons players.
But it was not especially forceful so a player who will miss next week anyway with a hamstring strain will likely dodge a suspension.
Melbourne’s Ed Langdon suffered rib damage in a crunching tackle from North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas on Saturday and won a free kick for the incident.
But while Thomas’ tackle was brutal it was also fair given he did not lift Langdon far off the ground and did not collect his head in the incident.
Players are able to tackle each other with extreme force as long as it is in a legal manner.
The Demons did not have an update on Langdon’s condition on Sunday but it is believed he has likely broken ribs given how sore the talented wingman was after the incident.
He was subbed off and would miss several weeks if his ribs were broken rather than just bruised.
North Melbourne coach David Noble said on Saturday he would consult with the umpires on that decision and several others from the clash after a 25-18 free kick count in the Demons’ favour.
Western Bulldogs forward Buku Khamis was offered a $2000 fine for his high spoil on Gold Coast defender Jy Farrar on Saturday.
The strike was assessed as low force, careless and of high impact.
Khamis’s spoil started across Farrar’s back but slid up and collected him in the head, with Farrar later subbed out with concussion in a separate incident involving friendly fire from teammate Lachie Weller.
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