AFL Round 5 teams: Grand final won’t sway GWS call on Phil Davis for Hawks clash

GWS says its call to risk Phil Davis which backfired in last year’s Grand Final will have no bearing on whether he faces Hawthorn. Meanwhile, Sydney’s big man issues have reached breaking point. ROUND 5 TEAMS.

RichmondÕs Jack Riewoldt and Giants Phil Davis watch Tigers goal sail through during the AFL Grand Final between the GWS Giants and Richmond Tigers at the MCG on September 28, 2019 in Melbourne. Picture. Phil Hillyard

GWS has declared Phil Davis’ grand final nightmare will not impact on the looming decision over whether he plays against Hawthorn on Sunday.

Davis suffered a back spasm in last Friday night’s win over Collingwood which he felt in his hamstrings, but the star defender is being given every chance to back-up a week later after training strongly on Thursday.

The race against time draws some similarities to last year’s grand final, when Davis bravely took the field at the MCG to lead his team despite battling a calf problem which required an extraordinary fitness test just an hour before the decider against Richmond.

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Davis’ call to play was justifiable risk to take given the number of personnel issues a banged up GWS were battling across the board, and the presence he felt he could provide as captain on the club’s biggest ever day.

However, it didn’t stop him copping a mountain of criticism after he was ultimately outplayed by opposite Jack Riewoldt and Richmond romped to runaway premiership glory.

Giants’ coach Leon Cameron insisted the club is not scarred by the Davis fitness test and it would not make them hesitate about playing their strongest defender if they feel he is fit.

“It’s a different case. Phil clearly had a calf issue going into the grand final and it’s like anything. A lot of people will jump on when you make those bold decisions and they don’t come off,” Cameron said.

Phil Davis battled through last year’s Grand Final after undergoing a late fitness test.

“We made some bold decisions on grand final day, you look back and say, ‘would you do it again? Do you think twice?’ Maybe. But it wasn’t just Phil. We probably took in about four players who were a little bit underdone and Richmond were too good.

“We can’t discount that. That’s the nature of the beast. You win some, you lose some. If Phil and the doctors and we are all really comfortable and ready to play against some of the keys against Hawthorn on the weekend then we’ll pick him. What’s not going to come into consideration is what happened 10 months ago.”

If passed fit Davis could be set for a blockbuster match-up against the Giants’ former No. 1 draft pick Jon Patton, who will line-up against his old club for the first time on Sunday.

Phil Davis may yet play this weekend.

Straight after full-time last week, GWS were almost resigned to Davis missing a couple of weeks, but now there is genuine optimism.

It would be a much-needed boost given fellow defender Zac Williams has been sidelined.

“I think he’s giving himself every chance. He’s trained today and ran at a really good clip,” said Cameron.

“We’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow and then if he can complete the captains run then definitely more favourable than not.”

Callum Sinclair is the latest Sydney big man to succumb to injury.

SYDNEY’S BIG MAN ISSUES REACH BREAKING POINT

Sydney Swans are officially in a big man personnel crisis, with Callum Sinclair the latest key tall ruled out with injury.

As the Swans prepare to go up against one of the most imposing ruck experts of the past 10 years in West Coast man mountain Nic Naitanui, Sinclair was to be trusted by coach John Longmire to fill Sam Naismith’s giant shoes on Saturday.

But now the Swans have lost their back-up too after Sinclair hyper-extended his knee at training on Tuesday and failed to come up for selection.

Sydney are now missing key tall forwards Lance Franklin and Sam Reid, while Naismith is gone for the season with an ACL rupture. Now Sinclair is out indefinitely.

In addition, young gun Tom McCartin will miss another week after suffering a concussion against North Melbourne a fortnight ago.

It’s a worry given his family history with head knocks.

By the club’s count, they now have a total of seven big men unavailable.

The Swans are likely to run with the versatile Aliir Aliir in the ruck, but at 195cm, he’s giving away six centimetres and a ton of experience to Naitanui.

If there’s one team you don’t want to go small on, it’s against the towering Eagles, who are aerially brilliant across the park with the likes of Naitanui, Kennedy, Darling and McCovern.

Sydney also brings in Sam Gray, Lewis Melican, Colin O’Riordan and Ryan Clarke to face an Eagles team equally desperate for a win.

PIES SET TO UNLEASH TRELOAR AFTER DELAYED START

Collingwood star Adam Treloar is set to make his first senior appearance of 2020 in Friday night’s clash with Essendon at the MCG.

It has been a frustrating start to the season for Treloar, who suffered a hamstring strain prior to Round 1 before the COVID-19 shutdown.

He then hurt his calf while in training before the resumption of the season, but is now “ready to go” after getting through some recent scratch matches.

“He’s been in good form and we asked him to play that extra game last week to bulletproof him going forward,” Magpies coach Nathan Buckley said.

“He hasn’t missed a step so he’s ready to go.”

Treloar looms as a straight swap for Steele Sidebottom, who is expected to receive a suspension for breaking COVID-19 restrictions at the weekend.

Harder to replace will be defender Jeremy Howe, who suffered a nasty knee injury against the GWS Giants last Friday night.

Adam Treloar is set to play his first match of the season in Round 5.

Buckley said it’ll be up to the whole defensive unit to make up for the loss of the in-form intercept backman.

“It’s pretty hard to replace what is and has been one of the best defenders in the competition,” he said.

“Statistically he is the best and the last few years he’s really elevated himself into the highest echelon of players full stop.

In short you can’t replace him with one, but the reality is we’re a systems based football club.

“We’ve got a really good understanding of the way we want to impose our game style on the opposition and we will look to put a back seven together that is going to be able to defend as well as it has to this point.

“We’re pretty hard to move the ball against and to score against, and Howie has been a strong part of that but not the only part.”

ROUND 5 TEAMS

Find the Round 5 teams here when they are announced.

Carlton v St Kilda

Thursday, July 2, 7.40pm, Marvel Stadium

BLUES

B: L.Plowman, L.Jones, T.Williamson

HB: S.Docherty, J.Weitering, S.Petrevski-Seton

C: J.Newnes, P.Cripps, S.Walsh

HF: M.McGovern, L.Casboult, J.Martin

F: E.Betts, H.McKay, M.Gibbons

FOLL: M.Pittonet, D.Cunningham, E.Curnow

I/C: K.Simpson, M.Murphy, W.Setterfield, Z.Fisher

EMG: S.Philp, L.O’Brien, C.Moore, M.Kennedy

IN: H.McKay, Z.Fisher

OUT: J.Silvagni (Injured), S.Philp (Omitted)

SAINTS

B: B.Paton, C.Wilkie, J.Carlisle

HB: B.Long, D.Howard, J.Geary

C: B.Hill, H.Clark, S.Ross

HF: D.Butler, M.King, J.Billings

F: D.Kent, T.Membrey, J.Battle

FOLL: R.Marshall, J.Steele, J.Gresham

I/C: D.Hannebery, N.Coffield, J.Lonie, J.Marsh

EMG: J.Sinclair, N.Hind, P.Ryder, R.Byrnes

IN: J.Geary

OUT: Z.Jones (injured)

COLLINGWOOD v ESSENDON

Friday July 3, 7:50pm at the MCG

MAGPIES

B: Crisp, Roughead, Scharenberg

HB: Maynard, Moore, Varcoe

C: Daicos, Pendlebury, Hoskin-Elliott

HF: Stephenson, Mihocek, Phillips

F: De Goey, Cox, Elliott

FOLL: Grundy, Adams, Treloar

I/C: Mayne, Wills, T.Brown, C.Brown

EMG: Madgen, Thomas, Cameron, Noble

IN: Scharenberg, Varcoe, Treloar

OUT: Howe (injured), Noble (omitted), Sidebottom (suspension)

BOMBERS

B: Gleeson, Hooker, Saad

HB: Zaharakis, Hurley, Ridley

C: Ham, McGrath, Langford

HF: Fantasia, McKernan, McDonald-Tipungwuti

F: Snelling, Stringer, Townsend

FOLL: Phillips, Parish, Shiel

I/C: Smith, Hibberd, Redman, Laverde

EMG: Cahill, Guelfi, Clarke, Zerk-Thatcher

IN: Phillips, Hibberd, Laverde

OUT: Francis (injured), Merrett (suspension), Bellchambers (managed)

WEST COAST EAGLES v SYDNEY SWANS

Saturday June 4, 1:45pm at Metricon Stadium

EAGLES

B: Hurn, Barrass, Duggan

HB: Nelson, McGovern, Sheppard

C: Gaff, Kelly, Sheed

HF: Cripps, Darling, Redden

F: Ryan, Kennedy, Ah Chee

FOLL: Naitanui, Yeo, Shuey

I/C: Waterman, Allen, Cole, Jones

EMG: Williams, Ainsworth, Rotham, Edwards

IN: Nelson, McGovern, Waterman, Allen

OUT: Jetta, Hickey (both omitted), Schofield (suspension), Brander (injured)

SWANS

B: Mills, Rampe, Melican

HB: Lloyd, Aliir, Dawson

C: Cunningham, Parker, Florent

HF: Heeney, Blakey, Hayward

F: Ronke, Papley, Gray

FOLL: McLean, Kennedy, Rowbottom

I/C: O’Riordan, Hewett, McInerney, Clarke

EMG: Foot, Fox, Taylor, Warner

IN: Melican, Gray, O’Riordan, Clarke

OUT: Taylor, Fox (both omitted), Sinclair, Naismith (both injured)

GEELONG CATS v GOLD COAST SUNS

Saturday July 4, 4:35pm at GMHBA Stadium

CATS

B: Kolodjashnij, Blicavs, Henry

HB: O’Connor, Taylor, Bews

C: Parfitt, Dangerfield, Selwood

HF: Tuohy, Rohan, Duncan

F: Ratugolea, Hawkins, Dahlhaus

FOLL: Fort, Ablett, Steven

I/C: C.Guthrie, Narkle, Menegola, Miers

EMG: Simpson, Clark, Parsons, Z.Guthrie

IN: Taylor, Narkle

OUT: Stewart, Atkins (both injured)

SUNS

B: Budarick, Collins, Lukosius

HB: Hanley, Ballard, Harbrow

C: Weller, Greenwood, Anderson

HF: Powell, Day, Ellis

F: Sexton, King, Ainsworth

FOLL: Witts, Swallow, Rowell

I/C: Bowes, Miller, Holman, MacPherson

EMG: Flanders, Wright, Smith, Sharp

No changes

WESTERN BULLDOGS v NORTH MELBOURNE

Saturday July 4, 7:40pm at Marvel Stadium

BULLDOGS

B: Williams, Keath, Daniel

HB: Johannisen, Cordy, Crozier

C: Richards, Bontempelli, Macrae

HF: Dale, Schache, McLean

F: Wallis, Bruce, West

FOLL: English, Liberatore, Smith

I/C: Wood, Vandermeer, Lipinski, Jong

EMG: Butler, Gowers, Sweet, Gardner

IN: Schache, Wood, Jong

OUT: Naughton, Lloyd (both injured), Butler (omitted)

KANGAROOS

B: McDonald, Tarrant, Atley

HB: Pittard, Walker, Williams

C: Polec, Cunnington, Hall

HF: Anderson, Zurhaar, Taylor

F: Thomas, Brown, Xerri

FOLL: Goldstein, Higgins, Simpkin

I/C: Dumont, Macmillan, Mahony, Hayden

EMG: Scott, Ahern, Bonar, McKay

IN: Cunnington, Macmillan

OUT: Ziebell (injured), Ahern (omitted)

BRISBANE LIONS v PORT ADELAIDE

Saturday July 4, 7:40pm at the Gabba

LIONS

B: Lester, Andrews, Gardiner

HB: Rich, Birchall, Ah Chee

C: Robinson, J.Berry, McCluggage

HF: McCarthy, Hipwood, Rayner

F: Bailey, McStay, Cameron

FOLL: McInerney, Lyons, Neale

I/C: Martin, T.Berry, Ellis-Yolmen, Starcevich

EMG: Skinner, Hinge, Witherden, Mathieson

IN: Martin, T.Berry

OUT: Zorko (injured), Smith (omitted)

POWER

B: McKenzie, Clurey, Houston

HB: Hartlett, Jonas, Byrne-Jones

C: Westhoff, Wines, Amon

HF: Ebert, Marshall, Rozee

F: Butters, Dixon, Gray

FOLL: Lycett, Powell-Pepper, Boak

I/C: Motlop, Rockliff, Bonner, Farrell

EMG: Lienert, Sutcliffe, Ladhams, Mayes

No changes

ADELAIDE CROWS v FREMANTLE

Sunday July 5, 1:05pm at Metricon Stadium

CROWS

B: Kelly, Talia, Brown

HB: Laird, Smith, Doedee

C: Crocker, Jones, Lynch

HF: Murphy, B.Crouch, Walker

F: Frampton, McAdam, McHenry

FOLL: O’Brien, Sloane, Keays

I/C (from): M.Crouch, Poholke, Hartigan, Hamill, Himmelberg, McAsey, McPherson, Davis

IN: M.Crouch, Hartigan, McPherson, Davis

OUT: Nil

DOCKERS

B: Hill, Logue, Conca

HB: Wilson, Ryan, Hughes

C: Cerra, Brayshaw, Aish

HF: Colyer, Taberner, Bewley

F: Lobb, Hogan, Walters

FOLL: Darcy, Mundy, Tucker

I/C (from): Blakely, Matera, Serong, Young, Banfield, Duman, Schultz, Sturt

IN: Darcy, Blakely, Duman, Banfield, Sturt

OUT: Fyfe (injured)

MELBOURNE v RICHMOND

Sunday July 5, 3:35pm at the MCG

DEMONS

B: Smith, May, Hibberd

HB: Harmes, Lever, Salem

C: Langdon, Oliver, Tomlinson

HF: Hannan, T.McDonald, Brayshaw

F: Pickett, Petracca, Fritsch

FOLL: Gawn, Melksham, Viney

I/C (from): Jackson, Spargo, vandenBerg, Rivers, O.McDonald, Hunt, Brown, Lockhart

IN: Jackson, Spargo, O.McDonald, Brown

OUT: Nil

TIGERS

B: Vlastuin, Grimes, Balta

HB: Houli, Broad, Short

C: McIntosh, Prestia, Caddy

HF: Higgins, Edwards, Castagna

F: Martin, Lynch, Riewoldt

FOLL: Nankervis, Cotchin, Lambert

I/C (from): Pickett, Rioli, Bolton, Baker, Graham, Aarts, Garthwaite, Chol

IN: Balta, Pickett, Rioli, Aarts, Graham, Garthwaite, Chol

OUT: Stack, Ross (both omitted), Astbury (injured)

GWS GIANTS v HAWTHORN

Sunday July 5, 6:10pm at Giants Stadium

GIANTS

B: Shaw, Davis, Corr

HB: Whitfield, Haynes, Ash

C: Kelly, Coniglio, Perryman

HF: Ward, Cameron, Greene

F: Daniels, Himmelberg, Finlayson

FOLL: Mumford, Hopper, de Boer

I/C (from): Keeffe, Hately, Green, Lloyd, Sheridan, Jacobs, Caldwell, Buntine

IN: Keeffe, Lloyd, Jacobs, Sheridan, Caldwell, Buntine

OUT: Taylor, Williams (both injured)

HAWKS

B: Hardwick, Frawley, Frost

HB: Gunston, McEvoy, Stratton

C: Henderson, Burgoyne, Scully

HF: Sicily, O’Brien, Smith

F: O’Meara, Lewis, Wingard

FOLL: Ceglar, Worpel, Mitchell

I/C (from): Scrimshaw, Cousins, Patton, Puopolo, Morrison, Shiels, Hanrahan, Jones

IN: Cousins, Patton, Puopolo, Morrison, Jones

OUT: Breust (injured)

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Originally published as AFL Round 5 teams: Grand final won’t sway GWS call on Phil Davis for Hawks clash