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Round 8 AFL teams: Harry McKay pulls out of Carlton team to play North Melbourne

Carlton has made a late change to its team to face North Melbourne after an incident at its Queensland hotel. The move opens the door for a former Tiger to make his Blues debut. SEE ALL THE TEAMS

Callum Porter is told he will make his AFL debut by Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge. Picture: Michael Klein.
Callum Porter is told he will make his AFL debut by Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge. Picture: Michael Klein.

Harry McKay is out of Carlton’s team to face North Melbourne.

The key forward, who booted three goals against Port Adelaide last week, is a late withdrawal after he experienced a hyper extension to his knee training at the club’s Queensland hotel away from the main group on Thursday.

McKay had to complete a solo session away from his teammates after a delay in receiving his coronavirus test results.

“He came back to the hotel here and did a training session by himself once he got those results back that he was clear,” coach David Teague said on Friday.

“There’s no problem there – it was nothing to do with his test. It was to do with the laboratory. I’m not sure exactly what happened, to be totally honest, but he had no concerns with his health or anything like that.

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“As long as he’s pulled up well from that session (he will be fine to play). He did it by himself, which was a bit hard and we don’t know exactly what he did, because he wasn’t with the whole group.”

It emerged today McKay hurt his knee in that solo session.

His replacement is Callum Moore, who is making his Blues debut after playing eight games in four seasons for Richmond. The athletic tall was recruited by the Blues in the suplementary selection period.

The Kangaroos will run out onto the Gabba as selected, meaning star midfielder Jy Simpkin will take his place in the side despite a limited week on the track.

Earlier, Orazio Fantasia’s bumpy season has suffered another blow, with the Essendon defender ruled out of Sunday’s clash with Adelaide due to a calf complaint.

Fantasia suffered what the Bombers said was a “suspected calf strain” at training on Friday and was replaced by Martin Gleeson in the club’s selected side to tackle the Crows.

Fantasia missed Round 2 with a quad injury and has been shifted from attack to defence with limited effect over the past three weeks.

The 24-year-old has recorded more than nine disposals just once from his five games this season.

Collingwood forward Josh Thomas will return for his first game since Round 2 against West Coast on Sunday, while Darcy Cameron and Matt Scharenberg have also been confirmed as ins for that for that match.

Atu Bosenavalagi was dropped after playing the first two games of his career, while Jordan De Goey (finger) and Travis Varcoe (ribs) were the other two omissions from the Collingwood side which toppled Geelong last week.

Melbourne veteran Nathan Jones will play his first game since Round 2 against Brisbane on Sunday after impressing in scratch matches and on the training track in recent weeks.

Key forward Tom McDonald and wingman Adam Tomlinson failed to win their places back in the Demons’ side, both named as emergencies for the clash.

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Orazio Fantasia will miss the clash against the Crows with a calf injury. Picture: Getty Images
Orazio Fantasia will miss the clash against the Crows with a calf injury. Picture: Getty Images

A depleted Geelong has named three potential debutants on an extended interchange for Monday’s clash against Fremantle.

Ben Jarvis, Nathan Kreuger and Brad Close are among eight inclusions for the Cats, who have lost Joel Selwood, Luke Dahlhaus and Jordan Clark to injury and Gary Ablett for personal reasons.

Fremantle will make at least one change with Stephen Hill ruled out with an adductor strain.

COVID TEST DELAY CAUSES BLUES CONFUSION

- Rebecca Willams

Carlton coach David Teague has revealed Harry McKay was forced to miss a key group training session due to a delay in getting his COVID-19 test results.

Dismissing suggestions McKay had suffered a hamstring injury, the Blues coach said the forward had been forced to train on his own away from the main group on Thursday as his test results had not come back in time before the session.

McKay later got the all-clear with his results, but Teague admitted on Friday the delay had not been ideal for his preparation ahead of Saturday’s clash against North Melbourne.

“Harry had a concern, his COVID test results hadn’t come back so he wasn’t allowed to train with the main group,” Teague said.

“It was really disappointing obviously because we wanted Harry out there to train and to get through training, but we got a phone call from the AFL saying we had to wait for his results to come through before he could train with the whole group.

Harry McKay was forced to train away from Carlton’s main group on Thursday as his COVID-19 test results hadn’t come back in time. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images
Harry McKay was forced to train away from Carlton’s main group on Thursday as his COVID-19 test results hadn’t come back in time. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

“He came back to the hotel and did a training session by himself once he got those results back that he was clear. There was no problem there, it was nothing to do with his test.

“It was to do with the laboratory … I’m not sure what had happened to be totally honest, but he had no concerns with his health or anything like that.

“He has pulled up well from that session, he did it by himself, which will be hard because we don’t know exactly what he did because he wasn’t with the whole group … it wasn’t ideal for his preparation.

“I know there are reports he has a hamstring (injury), he has no hamstring (injury).”

After kicking just one goal in the first three rounds, McKay has booted six goals in the Blues’ past two matches against the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Carlton has sent ruckman Matthew Kreuzer home from their Queensland hub to continue his rehabilitation on his foot injury in Melbourne so he can access club facilities.

COX OVERLOOKED FOR EAGLES CLASH

— Nick Smart

Mason Cox remains on the outer at Collingwood after missing selection on the extended bench for Sunday’s big clash with West Coast.

Magpies coach Nathan Buckley has turned to recruit Darcy Cameron, Ben Reid and Josh Thomas, who have all been named.

Matt Scharenberg, Brayden Sier and Jack Madgen have also been added to the extended bench, with the team to be announced on Friday night.

Forward Jordan De Goey (finger) and Travis Varcoe (ribs) are the two forced outs.

North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw has a made a statement, dropping experienced duo Marley Williams and Mason Wood for his side’s meeting with Carlton.

Skipper Jack Ziebell (hamstring) Aiden Bonar (soreness) will also miss.

Nick Larkey (foot) will play his first game since Round 1, while fellow forward Cam Zurhaar (calf) will also return with Jed Anderson and Luke Davies-Uniacke.

Collingwood has overlooked Mason Cox. Picture: Getty Images
Collingwood has overlooked Mason Cox. Picture: Getty Images

Hawthorn named former Sun and Eagle Keegan Brooksby to make his club debut against Sydney on Saturday.

Hawk Ricky Henderson (knee) and Tim O’Brien (ankle) will miss.

“Ricky pulled up sore following Sunday’s game, with scans revealing a tear to his meniscus,” football boss Graham Wright said.

“Given he is expected to be out of action for at least 4-6 weeks, he’ll return home to spend time with his wife and two young kids.”

Essendon named Aaron Francis and Tom Bellchambers at the expense of Andrew Phillips and Cale Hooker (calf) to face Adelaide on Sunday.

St Kilda will bring Jack Sinclair and Matt Parker in for the first time in 2020, while Nicholas Hind has been included for Saturday’s clash with Port Adelaide. Josh Battle (facial fracture) and Jack Lonie will miss.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL ROUND 8 TEAMS

FRANKLIN TO TRAVEL WEST TO JOIN SWANS IN HUB

- Ben Horne

The Sydney Swans are intending to take Lance Franklin with them to their Perth hub in a sign there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for the injury-hampered superstar.

Swans coach John Longmire said it was still too early to put a time frame on Franklin’s likely return date when he addressed the media on Tuesday, but the fact the all-time great is likely to travel with the team to Western Australia is a sign that he will still play a role on the field this season.

Franklin has been running and partaking in skill sessions, but is still yet to return to full training with the team after injuring his hamstring during the COVID-19 shutdown.

The club denies he has been battling any other setbacks with his body.

Managing Franklin when he does return won’t be an easy process, particularly if he is to come back during the compressed part of the schedule.

The Swans are due to play three matches in 12 days during the AFL’s condensed block, including a derby against GWS in Perth.

It’s likely they may stay in Western Australia a further week to play Fremantle before heading home.

Sydney remains hopeful Lance Franklin will feature this year. Picture: Phil Hillyard.
Sydney remains hopeful Lance Franklin will feature this year. Picture: Phil Hillyard.
Matthew Ling will make a long-awaited AFL debut this weekend. Picture: Phil Hillyard.
Matthew Ling will make a long-awaited AFL debut this weekend. Picture: Phil Hillyard.

Longmire has highlighted how keen he is to get experienced names like Franklin back on the field to help mentor through the ever-expanding brigade of youngsters being blooded at the club – with Matthew Ling the latest debutant picked to face Hawthorn on Saturday.

As the club waits for Franklin, the Swans’ other major piece up forward Sam Reid returns against Hawthorn on Saturday for his first match of the season.

The 28-year-old’s imposing presence up forward has been hugely missed, particularly without Frankin in the line-up.

Will Hayward will miss at least one week for the Swans with a knee injury, while George Hewett, Colin O’Riordan, rookie Chad Warner and Ryley Stoddart are all part of five changes for the Swans from last week’s clash with Gold Coast.

The turnover is the latest example of Longmire’s extraordinary injury battles.

Lewis Taylor returns for Sydney and James Bell gets his first start of the season.

Meanwhile, Sam Jacobs will return to the Giants side after several weeks on the outer after Shane Mumford suffered a minor neck injury last week against Brisbane.

However, Giants coach Leon Cameron has effectively put Jacobs and Mumford on notice that the ruck position is no longer a two-horse race.

Cameron says young rucks Matthew Flynn and Kieren Briggs are ready to break into the AFL, and has thrown the gauntlet down to his big men to prove who deserves to play.

PORT DROPS VETERAN WESTHOFF

- Liz Walsh

Port Adelaide has axed veteran forward Justin Westhoff for its clash with St Kilda at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, but wounded youngster Connor Rozee has been named despite being unable to fully train this week.

Rozee, whose heel soreness has kept him off his legs during training, was quiet in the Power’s thrilling three-point win over Carlton last weekend with eight disposals and one behind. Westhoff, 33, meanwhile, was held scoreless by the Blues’ defenders and kept to only three touches.

The Power have recalled exciting young forward Mitch Georgiades to replace the 275-game Westhoff.

Brad Ebert also returns to the top-of-the-table Power after serving a one-match ban for rough conduct and is a like-for-like replacement for injured forward Steven Motlop (ankle), while Riley Bonner comes in for defender Ryan Burton (quad).

Justin Westhoff has been dropped from Port Adelaide’s side to face St Kilda. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Justin Westhoff has been dropped from Port Adelaide’s side to face St Kilda. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

With Port’s No. 1 ruckman, Scott Lycett, still a week or two away with a knee injury, back-up ruck Peter Ladhams – in his seventh game of AFL – will come up against former Power teammate Paddy Ryder.

Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas said the Ladhams/Ryder match-up would prove a good challenge for the 202cm 22-year-old.

“We know what Paddy delivers, he’s a beautiful tap ruckman, it’s going to be a big challenge for our midfield and our ruckman to compete with him and then hopefully around the ground we can nullify him and hopefully get off him and do some damage,” Jonas said.

“(Ladhams is) a young player coming through and wanting to make a name for himself, and it’s a great challenge that (Ryder’s) someone he’s learnt a lot of his craft from over the last few years,” Jonas said.

“The opportunity to put that on display against the man himself will be great.”

FULL ROUND 8 TEAMS (All times AEST)

GOLD COAST v WESTERN BULLDOGS

Thursday July 23, 7:40pm at Metricon Stadium

SUNS

B: C.Budarick, S.Collins, J.Lukosius

HB: P.Hanley, C.Ballard, J.Harbrow

C: L.Weller, H.Greenwood, B.Ellis

HF: N.Anderson, S.Day, A.Sexton

F: I.Rankine, B.King, B.Ainsworth

FOLL: J.Witts, D.Swallow, T.Miller

I/C: J.Bowes, W.Powell, N.Holman, D.MacPherson

EMG: B.Fiorini, C. Ellis, J. Corbett, S. Lemmens

BULLDOGS

B: B.Williams, A.Keath, C.Daniel

HB: J.Johannisen, E.Wood, H.Crozier

C: J.Macrae, M.Bontempelli, L.Vandermeer

HF: B.Gowers, Z.Cordy, M.Suckling

F: M.Wallis, J.Bruce, C.Weightman

FOLL: T.English, T.Liberatore, B.Smith

I/C: E.Richards, P.Lipinski, C.Porter, La.Young

EMG: T.McLean, L.Butler, R.Smith, J.Sweet

IN: B.Gowers, C.Porter

OUT: B.Dale (Injured), L.Hunter (Managed)

RICHMOND v GWS

Friday July 24, 7:50pm at Giants Stadium

TIGERS

B: Broad, Grimes, Balta

HB: Short, Vlastuin, Eggmolesse-Smith

C: McIntosh, Bolton, Naish

HF: Aarts, Higgins, Castagna

F: Martin, Lynch, Riewoldt

FOLL: Soldo, Pickett, Lambert

I/C: Rioli, Graham, Baker, Chol

EMG: Ralphsmith, Dow, Markov, Stack

IN: Naish

OUT: Caddy (injured)

GIANTS

B: Shaw, Davis, Corr

HB: Haynes, Keeffe, Perryman

C: Kelly, Coniglio, Whitfield

HF: Daniels, Cameron, Greene

F: Himmelberg, Finlayson, Greene

FOLL: Jacobs, Taranto, de Boer

I/C: Caldwell, Ash, Langdon, Lloyd

EMG: Hately, Buntine, Briggs, Hill

IN: Greene, Jacobs, Lloyd

OUT: Hill, Hately (both omitted), Mumford (injured)

NORTH MELBOURNE v CARLTON

Saturday July 25, 1:05pm at the Gabba

KANGAROOS

B: Pittard, Tarrant, McDonald

HB: Atley, McKay, Hayden

C: Polec, Simpkin, Dumont

HF: Zurhaar, Walker, Scott

F: Mahony, Brown, Taylor

FOLL: Goldstein, Higgins, Anderson

I/C: Davies-Uniacke, Larkey, Macmillan, Hall

EMG: Durdin, Xerri, Murphy, Hosie

IN: Zurhaar, Anderson, Davies-Uniacke, Larkey

OUT: Williams, Wood, Bonar, Ziebell

BLUES

B: Plowman, Jones, Simpson

HB: Docherty, Weitering, Williamson

C: Murphy, Cripps, Newnes

HF: Martin, Casboult, McGovern

F: Betts, McKay, Gibbons

FOLL: Pittonet, Setterfield, Walsh

I/C: Petrevski-Seton, E.Curnow, Kennedy, Cuningham

EMG: Cottrell, Moore, Philp, Honey

No changes

SYDNEY v HAWTHORN

Saturday July 25, 3:35pm at the SCG

SWANS

B: Lloyd, Rampe, Clarke

HB: Fox, Aliir, Mills

C: Bell, Parker, Cunningham

HF: Dawson, McCartin, L.Taylor

F: E.Taylor, Reid, Papley

FOLL: Sinclair, Rowbottom, Florent

I/C: Stephens, Gray, Blakey, Ling

EMG: O’Riordan, Wicks, Warner, Thurlow

IN: Bell, L.Taylor, Reid, Gray, Ling

OUT: Warner, O’Riordan (omitted), Hayward, Hewett, Stoddart (injured)

HAWKS

B: Hardwick, Frawley, Sicily

HB: Day, Frost, Scrimshaw

C: Scully, O’Meara, Smith

HF: Gunston, Brooksby, Wingard

F: Minchington, Lewis, Morrison

FOLL: McEvoy, Worpel, Mitchell

I/C: Burgoyne, Stratton, Shiels, Morris

EMG: Hartley, Glass, Hanrahan, Puopolo

IN: Scrimshaw, Brooksby

OUT: O’Brien, Henderson

PORT ADELAIDE v ST KILDA

Saturday July 25, 7:40pm at the Adelaide Oval

POWER

B: Bonner, McKenzie, Clurey

HB: Hartlett, Jonas, Byrne-Jones

C: Farrell, Wines, Amon

HF: Powell-Pepper, Marshall, Rozee

F: Butters, Dixon, Gray

FOLL: Ladhams, Houston, Boak

I/C: Mayes, Ebert, Duursma, Georgiades

EMG: Rockliff, Westhoff, Garner, Woodcock

IN: Bonner, Ebert, Georgiades

OUT: Burton, Motlop (injured), Westhoff (omitted)

SAINTS

B: Coffield, Wilkie, Carlisle

HB: Hill, Howard, Ross

C: Geary, Clark, Billings

HF: Butler, Gresham, Kent

F: Parker, Membrey, King

FOLL: Ryder, Steele, Jones

I/C: Paton, Sinclair, Hind, Marshall

EMG: McKenzie, Marsh, Lonie, Byrnes

IN: Parker, Sinclair, Hind

OUT: Battle (injured), Byrnes, Lonie (omitted)

ADELAIDE v ESSENDON

Sunday July 26, 1:05pm at the Adelaide Oval

CROWS

B: L.Brown, D.Talia, W.Hamill

HB: F.McAsey, T.Doedee, R.Laird

C: D.Mackay, C.Jones, T.Lynch

HF: K.Hartigan, B.Smith, B.Crouch

F: T.Stengle, T.Walker, S.McAdam

FOLL: R.O’Brien, M.Crouch, P.Seedsman

I/C: L.Murphy, B.Keays, E.Himmelberg, A.McPherson

EMG: Gibbs, Crocker, Kelly, Atkins

IN: Murphy, Gibbs, Atkins, Himmelberg

OUT: McHenry (managed), Kelly (omitted)

BOMBERS

B: M.Redman, A.Francis, M.Hurley

HB: C.McKenna, J.Ridley, A.Saad

C: K.Langford, Z.Merrett, B.Ham

HF: A.McDonald-Tipungwuti, D.Zaharakis, W.Snelling

F: J.Laverde, J.Townsend, D.Smith

FOLL: T.Bellchambers, D.Parish, A.McGrath

I/C: S.McKernan,, M.Hibberd, N.Cahill, M.Gleeson

EMG: Stewart, Cutler, Clarke, Guelfi

IN: Francis, Bellchambers, Gleeson

OUT: Hooker (injured), Phillips (omitted), Fantasia (injured)

WEST COAST v COLLINGWOOD

Sunday July 26, 3:35pm at Optus Stadium

EAGLES

B: B.Sheppard, T.Barrass, S.Hurn

HB: L.Duggan, J.McGovern, T.Cole

C: J.Redden, E.Yeo, A.Gaff

HF: J.Cripps, J.Darling, D.Sheed

F: J.Waterman, J.Kennedy, L.Ryan

FOLL: N.Naitanui, T.Kelly, L.Shuey

I/C: O.Allen, J.Nelson, B.Ainsworth, J.Cameron

EMG: Williams, Rotham, Edwards, Reid

IN: Shuey

OUT: Ah Chee (injured)

MAGPIES

B: J.Crisp, J.Roughead, I.Quaynor

HB: B.Maynard, D.Moore, J.Noble

C: T.Phillips, S.Pendlebury, C.Mayne

HF: J.Stephenson, B.Mihocek, C.Brown

F: J.Daicos, W.Hoskin-Elliott, J.Elliott

FOLL: B.Grundy, T.Adams, A.Treloar

I/C: J.Thomas, R.Wills, M.Scharenberg, D.Cameron

EMG: Bosenavulagi, Reid, Sier, Madgen

IN: Thomas, Scharenberg, Cameron

OUT: Varcoe, De Goey (both injured), A.Bosenavulagi (omitted)

MELBOURNE v BRISBANE LIONS

Sunday July 26, 6:10pm at Metricon Stadium

DEMONS

B: M.Hibberd, S.May, J.Lockhart

HB: C.Salem, J.Lever, O.McDonald

C: E.Langdon, C.Oliver, B.Fritsch

HF: J.Melksham, S.Weideman, J.Harmes

F: K.Pickett, M.Hannan, H.Bennell

FOLL: M.Gawn, C.Petracca, J.Viney

I/C: N.Jones, L.Jackson, A.Brayshaw, N.Jetta

EMG: Tomlinson, Neal-Bullen, T.McDonald, J.Smith

IN: Jones

OUT: Vandenberg (injured)

LIONS

B: R.Lester, H.Andrews, D.Gardiner

HB: D.Rich, G.Birchall, B.Starcevich

C: M.Robinson, D.Zorko, H.McCluggage

HF: J.Berry, E.Hipwood, C.Rayner

F: Z.Bailey, D.McStay, C.Cameron

FOLL: O.McInerney, J.Lyons, L.Neale

I/C: C.Ah Chee, L.McCarty, T.Berry, A.Smith

EMG: K.Coleman, A.Witherden, R.Mathieson, C.Ballenden

IN: Smith

OUT: Martin (injured)

FREMANTLE v GEELONG

Monday July 27, 8.10pm at Optus Stadium

DOCKERS

B: J.Aish, B.Cox, T.Duman

HB: E.Hughes, L.Ryan, N.Wilson

C: B.Bewley, D.Tucker, B.Acres

HF: A.Cerra, M.Taberner, M.Frederick

F: L.Schultz, R.Lobb, M.Walters

FOLL: S.Darcy, D.Mundy, A.Brayshaw

I/C: M.Crowden, T.Colyer, C.Serong, B.Banfield, B.Matera, C.Blakely, T.Watson, R.Conca

IN: Crowden, Blakely, Matera, Watson, Conca

OUT: S.Hill (injured)

CATS

B: M.O’Connor, M.Blicavs, J.Kolodjashnij

HB: J.Henry, H.Taylor, T.Stewart

C: S.Menegola, P.Dangerfield, Z.Tuohy

HF: M.Duncan, T.Hawkins, G.Miers

F: S.Simpson, E.Ratugolea, G.Rohan

FOLL: D.Fort, C.Guthrie, B.Parfitt

I/C: J.Bews, J.Steven, C.Constable, L.Fogarty, J.Parsons, N.Kreuger, B.Jarvis, B.Close

IN: Stewart, Duncan, Constable, Fogarty, Kreuger, Parsons, Jarvis, Close

OUT: Dahlhaus, Selwood, Clark (all injured), Ablett (personal reasons)

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Originally published as Round 8 AFL teams: Harry McKay pulls out of Carlton team to play North Melbourne

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