AFL round 21: All the latest injury news from across the weekend

The Pies’ shock loss to the Hawks came at a massive cost with an important pillar in doubt until finals and the Brownlow Medal favourite Nick Daicos also under an injury cloud.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 05: Nick Daicos of the Magpies marks the ball before colliding with James Blanck of the Hawks (R) during the round 21 AFL match between Hawthorn Hawks and Collingwood Magpies at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on August 05, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Nathan Murphy could miss the rest of the home and away season with a suspected syndesmosis injury as Collingwood coach Craig McRae ponders how to mend his “disconnected” side.

Magpies star Nick Daicos is also in doubt for Friday night’s blockbuster against Geelong and will be sent for scans after sustaining a knock to his knee in a heavy collision during the shock 32-point loss at the MCG.

McRae believed Murphy’s injury was a “low grade” syndesmosis sprain, while he said Daicos’ scan would be precautionary to rule out any structural damage to his knee.

Daicos, who signed a bumper six-year deal this week, was held to a career-low five disposals and moved to full-forward as the Magpies tried to help him break a fierce tag from Hawk Finn Maginness.

Nathan Murphy is helped from the field on Saturday. Picture: Michael Klein.

McRae said he was forced to give up on the positional shift heading into the last quarter, as he thought the move was contributing to a disconnect which had also dogged them in the previous loss to the Blues.

He said the need to support Daicos on the field to help him break the tag was discussed pre-game, but he would have to “watch the tape” to know whether more should have been done by his teammates.

“In the end you go we’re actually tying ourselves in knots here trying to find a place for Nick, and it’s actually disconnecting other parts of our game, so in the end we just went with what we knew,” he said.

“We like to think we look after each other quite well … I think the disconnection between our game has just gone off the last couple of weeks.

“We’ll look deeper into that, but I think we’ve had great pride in our connection over the last 18 months, and (Saturday) wasn’t that.”

McRae said the Magpies would need to “find out quickly” what has impacting areas of their game including stoppages, where they were soundly beaten 18-3 at centre bounces.

Asked if the back-to-back losses could be important for the Magpies to mount a successful finals campaign, McRae said that was his hope.

“I live in that world where I’d like to think so … I’m an optimistic guy, I look for the good in things,” he said.

“The last couple of weeks, there are a lot of parts of our game that just don’t look the same as what they have, but this is a long journey.

“We learnt a lot (from the Blues loss), there was so much we learnt last week and presented it to the players, and we learnt a bit more this week.”

McRae said there was no injury issue for Tom Mitchell, who was seen icing his quad after being subbed out of the game with only 12 disposals against his former side.

Daicos concerns highlight Pies day from hell

A battered and bruised Collingwood suffered a second consecutive defeat as the Magpies sweat on injuries to Brownlow Medal favourite Nick Daicos and important defender Nathan Murphy out of Saturday’s shock 32-point loss to Hawthorn.

In what could be a costly loss and a result that could open the race for the premiership, the Magpies endured a day from hell at the MCG as the young Hawks stunned the flag favourites.

In a stunning result, the top of the table side was outplayed and outworked by the Hawks almost from start to finish in a performance that will give rival flag aspirants hope.

But it was the injury concerns from the game that would almost be as worrying for coach Craig McRae as his team’s form slump over the past two weeks just a month out from the finals.

Scans for Daicos and Murphy will determine the extent of their injury concerns ahead of Friday night’s important clash with Geelong at the MCG.

The Magpies looked flat, tired and vulnerable against the Hawks and they have a tough run home in the final three weeks of the home and away season with the Cats, the Brisbane Lions and Essendon before the finals.

Daicos and Murphy failed to finish the game. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Daicos had the toughest day of his AFL career to date, being tagged out of the game by Finn Maginness and having a career-low five disposals.

The Hawks went after him from the start of the game, applying physical pressure on the newly re-signed Magpie, and getting in his face as often as they could.

His previous lowest disposal tally was 16 last year, and he hadn’t gone below 25 this season as he rocketed to Brownlow Medal favouritism.

He was crunched on several occasions - one of them resulting in a free kick and goal to him - but he looked sore throughout the match, and was hobbling for much of the second half.

He was rested for most of the final term and sat on the bench with ice applied to his knee and shin. He was limping noticeably after the game.

Murphy was in serious pain when attended to by trainers. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Magpies also lost Murphy early in the last quarter after he was caught in a rundown tackle. He immediately clutched his leg and was taken off the ground in the hands of trainers, initially going down into the rooms.

He emerged to sit on the bench, but his day was finished as well.

Murphy is a key player for the Pies as his presence allows Darcy Moore to play with more freedom in defence.

Tom Mitchell was subbed out of the game for tactical reasons but was seen pointing to his leg where he had clearly copped a knock as he sat on the bench late in the game.