By Marc McGowan and Peter Ryan
In today’s AFL briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Melbourne star Clayton Oliver could miss another month in a further blow for the out-of-sorts Demons as his “complex” hamstring injury lingers.
- Melbourne have axed three players for the clash with St Kilda – on top of losing Bayley Fritsch to injury – as they try to get their faltering flag hopes back on track.
- AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey’s son will continue his famous father’s legacy when he makes his senior debut for North Melbourne against Geelong on Sunday.
- Luke Beveridge wants a return to the grit that kick-started the Western Bulldogs’ season when they host top side Collingwood.
- Former Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien will be named the Tasmanian team’s inaugural chair on Friday.
Star Demon’s ‘complex’ hamstring to rule him out for another month
Marc McGowan
Melbourne star Clayton Oliver could miss another month in a further blow for the out-of-sorts Demons as his “complex” hamstring injury lingers.
Oliver has already been sidelined for five matches with the hamstring issue – plus a nasty infected blister – but was pushing to return this weekend, before feeling discomfort while trying to complete a series of run-throughs on Wednesday.
The four-time club champion, who underwent further scans post-training, engaged in an animated discussion with Melbourne’s high-performance manager Selwyn Griffith after failing to prove his fitness.
The Demons’ general manager of AFL performance, Alan Richardson, said they would explore all options to get to the bottom of Oliver’s problem but would take no risks with him.
“Clayton has a complex hamstring injury, due to the fact that the injury is located where the muscle attaches to the tendon, and to further complicate that, there is injury to two separate hamstring muscles,” Richardson said.
“There is no doubt that Clayton’s recovery has been complicated by the week he was required to spend immobile in hospital [with the blister].
“What we have experienced so far is that Clayton can comfortably achieve 90 per cent of his running capacity, but as we saw yesterday, he is unable to get to full speed to pass his minimum training markers.
“This suggests that, due to the discomfort Clayton felt during his run-throughs, further recovery time is required. At this stage, we expect this will be three to four weeks.”
Melbourne have lost three of their past five games ahead of Saturday night’s clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Premiership star Bayley Fritsch also underwent surgery on his fractured foot on Tuesday and could be out until finals.
Demons swing the changes ahead of danger match
Marc McGowan
Melbourne have axed three players for Saturday night’s clash with injury-ravaged St Kilda – on top of losing star forward Bayley Fritsch to injury – as they try to get their faltering premiership hopes back on track.
Kade Chandler, James Harmes and Joel Smith all lost their spots in Simon Goodwin’s side after a shock last-start shock loss to the Giants made it three defeats in five games.
The Saints picked Jack Billings and Zak Jones for the first time this season, while Jordan De Goey returns from suspension and Ash Johnson replaces Brody Mihocek (hamstring) for first-placed Collingwood’s Friday night showdown with the Western Bulldogs.
Magpies defender Brayden Maynard’s shoulder setback will also sideline him. Ed Richards is fit again for the Dogs after a hamstring issue.
They are not the only big names back for round 17, with Dayne Zorko and Jack Gunston in for Brisbane, dual All-Australian Touk Miller included in Gold Coast’s team, Lachie Whitfield playing for GWS, and West Coast regaining Jeremy McGovern and Tim Kelly.
Neither Melbourne nor St Kilda is in the type of form they produced earlier in the season but a top-four berth could be the winner’s prize, with the Dees turning to James Jordon, Charlie Spargo and debutant Taj Woewodin, son of 2000 Brownlow medallist Shane Woewodin.
The Saints, who barely escaped against the Eagles last week, will have to play without Bradley Hill (knee), Jack Higgins (knee) and Josh Battle (concussion).
Ex-Hawthorn forward Gunston will make his first appearance since coach Chris Fagan revealed after round 13 that both he and fellow veteran Daniel Rich would undergo a mid-season training block and not be eligible for selection.
‘I’m very proud of you’: Kangaroos unleash Harvey’s son
Marc McGowan
AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey’s son will continue his famous father’s legacy when he makes his senior debut for North Melbourne against Geelong on Sunday.
Cooper Harvey, 18, has bashed down the door with a series of impressive performances at VFL level, including kicking five goals and gathering 20 disposals last weekend.
The 180-centimetre forward-midfielder has kicked 20 goals in 11 matches at second-tier level this year and joins an attack spearheaded by Coleman Medal contender Nick Larkey, Jaidyn Stephenson and Cam Zurhaar.
Brent, known affectionately as “Boomer”, played 432 games for the Kangaroos between 1996 and 2016 in a brilliant career that included captaining the club, being part of the 1999 premiership team, winning five Syd Barker Medals, and receiving All-Australian honours four times.
The AFL Hall of Famer, who remains at the club as a development coach, broke the selection news to his son – the No.56 selection in last year’s draft – on Thursday.
Brent Harvey with Cooper in 2010.Credit: Joe Armao
An emotional Brent praised Cooper’s hard work to earn an opportunity that had been “a long time coming”.
“I’m very proud of you, mate. Just get through training, train well – [you are making your] debut,” Brent said.
“It’s so good, mate. I haven’t told mum, so you can tell. That’s awesome, mate ... [it is a] long time coming, but it’s good, an opportunity, so just go do what you do.
“It’s lucky I didn’t have to do that in front of the boys [because] I started tearing up a little bit.”
Cooper’s first AFL appearance will come on the same weekend that Taj Woewodin debuts for Melbourne.
The Northern Knights and North Heidelberg graduate is North Melbourne’s fourth debutant this season, behind leading Rising Star hope Harry Sheezel, Blake Drury and George Wardlaw.
Cooper was the Roos’ sixth father-son pick in the club’s history, with three others – Jackson Archer (son of Glenn), Bailey Scott (son of Robert) and co-captain Luke McDonald (son of Donald) – also on the current list.
He suffered two arm injuries during his draft season, but finished strongly for his school Assumption College and the Knights, as well as earning a call-up for Victoria Metro’s final AFL under-18 championships game, where he kicked a last-minute goal to seal the game.
Beveridge says Magpies clash a ‘great opportunity’
AAP
Luke Beveridge wants a return to the grit that kick-started the Western Bulldogs’ season when they host top side Collingwood in a blockbuster Friday night clash.
After dropping three games, the Bulldogs have won their last two and will fancy themselves against the Magpies in front of a sold-out Marvel Stadium crowd.
Luke Beveridge.Credit: Getty Images
Bulldogs defender Ed Richards returns from a hamstring injury, while Collingwood will be without injured duo Brayden Maynard and Brody Mihocek.
The big inclusion for Collingwood is star utility Jordan De Goey, who returns from his three-week suspension.
Beveridge has noted his side’s outstanding round-three win over Brisbane at the same venue, when they were in early season trouble.
They had come off solid losses to Melbourne and St Kilda, with the performance against the Saints in particular disturbing the Bulldogs.
But Jamarra Ugle-Hagan famously responded to racist abuse from a fan the week before with five goals and the Bulldogs upset Brisbane by 14 points.
They are now sixth and a win over Collingwood could put them into the top four.
“Friday night lights and playing the ‘Pies - what another great opportunity,” Beveridge said on Thursday.
“We feel like beating Brisbane at Marvel ... how dour we were and committed we were, it’s set us off on a pretty good path.
“If we can challenge the ’Pies, that will give us some more belief.”
Tasmania’s inaugural chair to be unveiled
Peter Ryan
Former Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien will be named the Tasmanian team’s inaugural chair in Devonport on Friday.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and CEO-elect Andrew Dillon will be at the announcement as debate continues in Tasmania about the merits of building a stadium in Hobart to house the new team.
Grant O’Brien.Credit: Archives
The AFL has made it clear the team will not get off the ground in Tasmania without a new stadium being built. However, the proposal has hit some political hurdles after being categorised as a project of state significance, which means it needs to pass both houses of parliament and then be assessed by the state’s planning commission.
O’Brien was on the AFL Tasmanian Taskforce, which in 2020 delivered the business case for a team in Tasmania to the league.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.