AFL DAILY: Rolling footy news for Wednesday, August 21
Collingwood star Steele Sidebottom is in doubt for the club's first final after rupturing a testicle at training on Wednesday. RE-CAP ALL OF WEDNESDAY'S FOOTY NEWS.
Rebecca Williams
less than 2 min read
August 21, 2019 - 8:14AM
Steele Sidebottom is in doubt for Collingwood's first final due to a ruptured testicle.
Collingwood has suffered a bizarre injury blow ahead of Friday night’s final-round clash against Essendon with Steele Sidebottom to miss after rupturing a testicle.
The Magpies revealed tonight Sidebottom suffered the freak injury during training on Wednesday and would undergo surgery on Thursday.
Collingwood said Sidebottom was accidently kicked in the groin during training, left the training track and was later found to have suffered a rupture.
General manager of football Geoff Walsh said it would not be known how long Sidebottom would be sidelined until after the surgery.
“Steele was in clear discomfort but the extent of the injury and an anticipated recovery period won’t be known until after the surgery,” Walsh said.
“It is certainly disappointing for Steele but the upside is that we have the break between the end of the home and away season and finals to give him added time to recover.”
Steele Sidebottom is in doubt for Collingwood's first final due to a ruptured testicle.
The Magpies best and fairest winner in 2017 and 2018, Sidebottom has not missed a game since Round 4, 2016.The injury is a blow for the Magpies just as their injury troubles appeared to be turning a corner.
Coach Nathan Buckley confirmed earlier in the day defender Darcy Moore would return for the clash against the Bombers after completing training on Wednesday.
RE-CAP OF ALL WEDNESDAY'S FOOTY NEWS VIA OUR BLOG BELOW.
Updates
Tagger's finals hopes in doubt
Tim Michell
Dan Batten
West Coast tagger Mark Hutchings finals hopes are in doubt after he re-injured his hamstring against the Tigers on Sunday.
Scans have revealed the blow is a low-grade hamstring strain – the same hamstring he hurt in Round 15 – with West Coast general manager of football Craig Vozzo saying he will miss the next three weeks.
It’s probably looking like a three-week recovery period. He’s moving around quite well already, but we’ll see how he goes in the next three week,” Vozzo said.
Hutchings went off late in the first quarter with the concern, returning to the ground in the second before being put on ice after half time.
The dogged midfielder may be forced to fight for his place in the strong Eagle’s lineup in a month’s time.
The injury opens the door for veteran Chris Masten who was axed for West Coast’s Round 21 clash with Adelaide.
'Vibe' good despite Eagles loss
Ben Broad
West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern says the vibe remains good at the AFL club despite their top-two fate falling out of their hands.
The Eagles could finish anywhere from first to fifth on the table, with Saturday night’s final-round clash with Hawthorn in Perth crucial to their premiership hopes.
Last week’s heartbreaking six-point loss to Richmond means West Coast need to beat Hawthorn and have another result fall their way to finish in the top two. If Geelong lose to Carlton on Saturday or Richmond thrash Brisbane on Sunday, a top-two berth will be there for the taking for West Coast.
But even if neither of those results fall their way, West Coast will at least guarantee themselves a top-four berth with victory over Hawthorn.
The Hawks need to beat West Coast and rely on the Bulldogs losing to Adelaide in order to sneak into eighth spot.
McGovern said although West Coast fell just short against Richmond at the MCG last week, the way they played was a big tick.
“The vibe’s good. We took a lot of confidence out of the weekend,” McGovern said.
“We didn’t get the result, but we played hard. It was a contested brand, and the boys were cracking in all day.
“We had a few minor hiccups here or there, but other than that we played well.
“It’s not as much about the result, it’s how we played. Win or lose we like to look at it that way.”
Tagger Mark Hutchings faces a race against time to be fit for the finals after re-injuring his left hamstring.
Chris Masten (above) is the frontrunner to replace him against the Hawks.
Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui will continue to ramp up his training loads over the next fortnight in a bid to prove his own fitness in time for the finals.
Naitanui hasn’t played since suffering a syndesmosis ankle injury in round 17, but his recovery to date has been impressive.
– AAP
Round 23 - what are the scenarios?
Ben Broad
MAURICE GAUL has crunched the numbers and taken a look at where every team can finish after Round 23.
The Cats can finish anywhere from 1st to 4th, the Brisbane Lions' hopes of clinching their first minor premiership in more than a century are not completely reliant on beating Richmond, while the South Australian clubs need plenty to go right to sneak into the finals.
And then there's the permutations for the Bulldogs and the Hawks.
🔮| How can Richmond still finish as minor premier ❓
Durability has Touk Miller set to become the fastest player to ever reach 100 games for Gold Coast and he believes it has given him the foundation needed to become one of the AFL’s A-grade midfielders.
Miller will reach the milestone in Gold Coast’s final game of the 2019 season on Saturday against GWS at Metricon Stadium.
“A hundred games doesn’t happen too often (in the AFL),” Miller said.
AFL great Jonathan Brown says coaches Leon Cameron and John Worsfold should be feeling nervous now that Ross Lyon is on the open market.
The Dockers dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when they sacked Lyon as coach and Steve Rosich as chief executive.
Lyon still had a year to run on his contract, and is set to receive a payment in excess of $600,000 from the Dockers next year if he fails to – or chooses against – joining a rival club in 2020.
Cameron still has a year to run on his GWS coaching contract, while Essendon’s Worsfold is also contracted for next year.
But both coaches are under pressure after inconsistent seasons. The sixth-placed Giants (12-9) have copped thrashings from Hawthorn (56 points) and the Bulldogs (61) over the past fortnight and are running out of time to snare a premiership from their talent-laden list.
Worsfold has been under huge pressure all season but that eased somewhat after last week’s 32-point win over Fremantle that secured their finals berth. Brown, who played 256 games for Brisbane during a decorated career, rates Lyon as one of the top three AFL coaches, and believes Fremantle were wrong to sack him.
Lyon hasn’t publicly declared whether he wants to coach next year but Brown feels like the 52-year-old would be a good fit at GWS.
“I would be nervous if I was Leon Cameron coaching GWS,” Brown told Nova 100. “GWS has got a lot of talent based in Sydney, a lot of talent and someone like Ross could come in and shape them right up.
“I would be nervous if I was John Worsfold at Essendon. It’s a big one, now Ross Lyon is in the game, there would be some nervous board members. “I just think Worsfold is on shaky ground.
“If the Bombers fail end of September … there has been talk behind the scenes that potentially there’s some factions trying to push Woosha out of the Bombers.” Worsfold has been touted as a possible contender to succeed Lyon at Fremantle. Collingwood assistant Justin Longmuir is the early frontrunner for the vacant Dockers position, with Peter Sumich and Brad Scott other candidates.
– AAP
Clarkson influence covers half AFL
Tim Michell
Tim Michell
Master coach Alastair Clarkson's influence will be felt at half the AFL's clubs this weekend after David Hale's appointment as Fremantle caretaker.
Hale played under Clarkson during his time at Hawthorn and becomes the eighth disciple of the Hawks premiership coach to lead a rival club this year.
Clarkson's former football director Chris Fagan is in charge at Brisbane Lions, while another ex-Hawk, Stuart Dew, is in his second season at Gold Coast.
Leon Cameron, Luke Beveridge, Adam Simpson, Damien Hardwick and Brett Ratten served as assistants under Clarkson.
Three of those have gone on to become premiership coaches, while Ratten is the frontrunner to land the St Kilda vacancy and Cameron will lead GWS to finals.
Suns boss Mark Evans says the club will wait until the end of the year before deciding if any of the increasing market of axed coaches could be the mentor they are looking for to help Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew.
Evans said bringing on a coaching mentor or director of coaching role was among a range of ideas the Suns had to help Dew’s development and there are now four sacked coaches on the market, with Fremantle’s Ross Lyon joining North Melbourne’s Brad Scott, Carlton’s Brendon Bolton and St Kilda’s Alan Richardson this week.
Scott and Lyon in particular would be at the top of the group considering their vast experience in coaching.
“We are invested in what is the next phase of growth for Stuart and his team of coaches underneath them,” Evans said.
“Some clubs have found some benefit by having a director of coaching or mentor program or leadership program."
Suns boss Mark Evans says the club will wait until the end of the year before deciding if any of the increasing market of axed coaches could be the mentor they are looking for to help Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew.
Evans said bringing on a coaching mentor or director of coaching role was among a range of ideas the Suns had to help Dew’s development and there are now four sacked coaches on the market, with Fremantle’s Ross Lyon joining North Melbourne’s Brad Scott, Carlton’s Brendon Bolton and St Kilda’s Alan Richardson this week.
Scott and Lyon in particular would be at the top of the group considering their vast experience in coaching.
“We are invested in what is the next phase of growth for Stuart and his team of coaches underneath them,” Evans said.
“Some clubs have found some benefit by having a director of coaching or mentor program or leadership program."
Rebecca Williams reports… Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley had revealed suspended forward Jaidyn Stephenson will make his return to the field in the VFL for the Magpies on Saturday. Stephenson has been out of the side since he was handed a 10-week ban from the AFL for betting on Collingwood matches in June. The young star's 10-game AFL ban ends after the match against Essendon and the team's Friday night fixture opened the door to Stephenson playing in the VFL. The news of Stephenson's return comes as Buckley also confirmed Darcy Moore was set to play in the final-round clash against the Bombers at the MCG. Buckley said the Magpies had sought clarification from the AFL during the week if Stephenson was allowed to play in the VFL and declared it a "small win" to get a game into him before the finals. "We had a small win this week and fortuitous that we had a Friday night game this weekend so Jaidyn plays in the VFL on Saturday which gives him a run around," Buckley said. "That will be another progression for him which is something that works in our favour and his and in his and gives him another step up in a match situation before having to come back a couple of weeks later. "The way that we understood it was a it was 10 AFL games and if we were scheduled to play on Saturday night, it would not have happened so (we) checked that with the AFL.
"For Jaidyn to be able to play with our VFL side this weekend, it's a small win. It's not AFL level and it gives him a chance to run around in a match scenario and take that next step. Buckley said Moore had passed his final hurdle in training and was set to make his return from a hamstring injury. Moore has not played since the Magpies' win over the West Coast Eagles in Round 17. "Darcy completed training and we'll pick a side this afternoon, but we anticipate that he'll play," Buckley said. "For Darcy, it's a win-win for him to be up and about and to have a run around is important. But we're not projecting beyond Friday night, we've got to go out and perform on Friday night and Darcy is a part of that. "He hasn't been preparing just to play, he's been preparing to perform, so that's what we expect of him Friday night."
Stephenson’s 10 AFL game suspension ends on Friday night which allows him to play for @CollingwoodVFL on Saturday, per @AFL
Rebecca Williams reports… Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley had revealed suspended forward Jaidyn Stephenson will make his return to the field in the VFL for the Magpies on Saturday. Stephenson has been out of the side since he was handed a 10-week ban from the AFL for betting on Collingwood matches in June. The young star's 10-game AFL ban ends after the match against Essendon and the team's Friday night fixture opened the door to Stephenson playing in the VFL. The news of Stephenson's return comes as Buckley also confirmed Darcy Moore was set to play in the final-round clash against the Bombers at the MCG. Buckley said the Magpies had sought clarification from the AFL during the week if Stephenson was allowed to play in the VFL and declared it a "small win" to get a game into him before the finals. "We had a small win this week and fortuitous that we had a Friday night game this weekend so Jaidyn plays in the VFL on Saturday which gives him a run around," Buckley said. "That will be another progression for him which is something that works in our favour and his and in his and gives him another step up in a match situation before having to come back a couple of weeks later. "The way that we understood it was a it was 10 AFL games and if we were scheduled to play on Saturday night, it would not have happened so (we) checked that with the AFL.
"For Jaidyn to be able to play with our VFL side this weekend, it's a small win. It's not AFL level and it gives him a chance to run around in a match scenario and take that next step. Buckley said Moore had passed his final hurdle in training and was set to make his return from a hamstring injury. Moore has not played since the Magpies' win over the West Coast Eagles in Round 17. "Darcy completed training and we'll pick a side this afternoon, but we anticipate that he'll play," Buckley said. "For Darcy, it's a win-win for him to be up and about and to have a run around is important. But we're not projecting beyond Friday night, we've got to go out and perform on Friday night and Darcy is a part of that. "He hasn't been preparing just to play, he's been preparing to perform, so that's what we expect of him Friday night."
Stephenson’s 10 AFL game suspension ends on Friday night which allows him to play for @CollingwoodVFL on Saturday, per @AFL
Pre-season matches begin this month, which means players are stepping it up a notch on the track. Who are the ones impressing at your club? Get all intel from across the league here.
Port Adelaide recruit Jack Lukosius has long been adamant he is best used as a forward – but, as we learnt on Friday, Ken Hinkley might have other ideas. Get all the latest match sim intel.
