By Jon Pierik, Andrew Wu, Scott Spits and Roy Ward
In today’s AFL Briefing, your daily wrap of footy news
- Sydney star Errol Gulden faces months on the sidelines with a horror ankle injury
- Essendon players and fans alike are salivating at the potential of young gun Isaac Kako
- Harley Reid could use his signature move less in 2025, according to an Eagles flag winner
- A concussion expert has backed the AFL’s changes to its head injury assessment process
Saints sweat on Owens scans; call for AFL to act
Jon Pierik
St Kilda forward Mitch Owens has become the fourth player injured through the pre-season when pushed in the back into a marking contest, sparking calls for the AFL to act.
Owens will be sent for scans after he hurt his left shoulder in Saturday’s 44-point pre-season loss – 14.9 (93) to 7.7 (49) – to Port Adelaide at Moorabbin. His afternoon came to an abrupt end when, after a nudge in the back from Power ruckman Jordon Sweet, he crashed into defender Miles Bergman in a marking contest inside the final two minutes of the second term.
Mitch Owens in the hands of the Saints trainers on Saturday.Credit: AFL Photos
Owens came off second best, with what could be an AC joint injury.
He opted to not test the shoulder as he left the field, and went for treatment in the change room.
Saints assistant coach Corey Enright said scans will determine how serious Owens’ injury is.
“It’s early, so we are not sure. He’ll go through what he has to do over the next 24, 48 hours, and then, obviously, we’ll have a look at the damage, and see whether it’s significant or not,” Enright said.
It’s the fourth time this pre-season that a player has been injured after being needlessly pushed into traffic.
Enright said he had seen the Owens incident, adding the young Saint was a “tough” player, so “it must have been a significant clash for him to do whatever he has done”.
“I can’t really comment on the actual act itself but, if that’s occurred over the early stages of the year, I guess the AFL will look at it,” Enright said.
Dual North Melbourne premiership player David King said the AFL needed to act.
“I think the AFL need to get involved and stamp it out quickly,” King, also a concussion awareness campaigner, said during Fox Footy’s commentary.
Power assistant coach Chad Cornes said he was unaware of the Sweet bump, but said he was aware of other similar incidents through the pre-season.
“I am sure it’s something they [the AFL] will look at if that becomes a trend but, obviously, it’s not something that we train, or we want to do. Sometimes players find themselves in awkward positions, but I can’t actually recall the Sweety one,” Cornes said.
Richmond youngster Sam Lalor, the No.1 draft pick, was concussed and required surgery for a fractured jaw after he was pushed by West Coast player Reuben Ginbey into fellow Eagle Sandy Brock, who had just marked.
At a time when the AFL continues to spruik its toughened concussion protocols, match review officer Michael Christian opted not to cite Ginbey, nor even mention the incident in his weekly report.
Premiership defender Brandon Starcevich will miss Brisbane’s AFL season opener against Geelong after he was concussed in their three-point loss to Adelaide. Starcevich was pushed into a marking contest by opponent Daniel Curtin.
“I’m sure it will be looked at ... I don’t think there’s any malice in it, they are just trying to contest the ball,” Lions assistant coach Stuart Dew later said of the Starcevich injury.
Hawthorn captain James Sicily was also involved in an incident where he pushed Western Bulldog Jordan Croft in the back, Croft then crashing into teammate Laitham Vandermeer, with the latter subbed out of the game because of concussion.
Owens booted 20 goals last season, and would be a major loss, particularly as star forward Max King remains in doubt for the season opener against Adelaide in a fortnight.
King had surgery on his right knee on Thursday. Scans this month ruled out a second ACL rupture on that knee after a training incident, but King had an exploratory arthroscope after continuing to deal with pain as he tried to ramp up his preparation.
Enright said King’s surgery had gone well, and he had begun rehabilitation at the club.
“He was in the club today. Look, we don’t know what the time frame is. It’s going to be early in the season (when he returns). It could be round one, it could be round two, round three, depending on how quickly he gets going,” Enright said.
It can be fraught to delve too deeply into pre-season action, given the Saints had nine players with 25 games or less of senior experience, including six yet to debut. However, veteran recruit Jack Macrae admitted their goalless first term – while conceding six – was not up to standard. Their ball use going forward, and an inability to find a teammate, was also a major issue. As was a lack of running power.
Their first goal did not come until almost 13 minutes into the second term when Power defender Aliir Aliir conceded a 50-metre penalty after impressive draftee Hugh Boxshall had marked inside the centre square. Boxshall milked Aliir’s barely-there push in the back after marking, prompting even Boxshall to smirk, and Aliir to laugh, about the umpire’s call.
Boxshall will be firmly in contention for a round one debut, Jack Higgins was impressive up forward, while Macrae was typically strong in the contest, having been pushed out of the Western Bulldogs’ centre-square set-up last year. Rebounding defender Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera spent time further afield and has the speed to trouble opponents.
Pre-season injury carnage claims another big-name victim
Andrew Wu
Sydney’s midfield star Errol Gulden faces months out of the game with a fractured ankle in a huge blow to the Swans’ premiership bid.
Gulden will undergo surgery on Sunday to repair the injury he sustained in a tackle in the first quarter of the Swans’ pre-season clash with the Gold Coast on Friday night.
Errol Gulden is the latest AFL star to succumb to injury this pre-season.Credit: Rhett Wyman
It continues the pre-season injury carnage that has sidelined several of the game’s best players, including Western Bulldogs gun Marcus Bontempelli, Carlton spearhead Charlie Curnow, and Collingwood’s match-winner Jordan De Goey.
The news last year’s grand finalists had been dreading was confirmed late on Saturday after Gulden’s scan results were assessed.
The Swans said they would wait until after Gulden went under the knife to give a time frame for his return, but recovery times for such injuries can take months rather than weeks.
“Errol Gulden sustained a fractured ankle in last night’s game against the Gold Coast Suns,” the club said in a statement.
Swans and Suns players wrestle during their pre-season clash on the Gold Coast.Credit: AFL Photos
“Gulden will have surgery tomorrow [Sunday].
“An approximate return to play date will be determined after surgery.”
It is shaping as a testing start to rookie coach Dean Cox’s debut season at the helm.
Cox, replacing longtime coach John Longmire, must now find a way to fill the huge void left by the silky-skilled two-time All-Australian in the Swans midfield, which will also be without skipper Callum Mills for the opening rounds of the season.
They still have elite midfield talent in Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner, but their strongest part of the field is now considerably weakened.
Gulden has been an incredibly durable player since bursting onto the scene in 2021, missing just five out of 98 games.
The Swans start their home and away campaign against Hawthorn on Friday night at the SCG.
Bombers go whacko for Kako
Andrew Wu
Gun youngster Isaac Kako is yet to play a senior game for Essendon but has already left an imprint at the club.
Bombers fans are going whacko for Kako, and so too are senior players who say they have been energised by the enthusiasm shown by the first-round draft pick in his first three months at Tullamarine.
Isaac Kako has Essendon fans salivating.Credit: AFL Photos
The diminutive goal sneak with the dreadlocks has been the find of the summer for the Dons, capping off his first pre-season with four goals in an exciting practice game outing against Geelong.
Touted as a leading contender for this year’s Rising Star Award, Kako is already a hit with Bombers, who flocked to him for signatures at the club’s family day on Saturday.
The dressing room has also warmed to the quietly spoken 18-year-old, whose on-field deeds are making a big noise.
“It’s pretty rare to have a small forward with so much presence,” Bombers defender Ben McKay said on Saturday.
“Normally it’s the big key forwards who strut around. For someone of his height and youth to have that aura is a really good thing.
“He’ll make defenders nervous from game one. He’s such a humble kid, that’s the most impressive thing for me. A very respectful young guy, good values, upholds what it means to be an Essendon person first and foremost.
“His footy stuff will take care of itself, but he’s a ripping young kid with the utmost respect for everyone around him.”
Lively small forwards are in vogue and in Kako the Dons look to have found a youngster with the speed and skill to thrive in the forward half.
“This spark for his first pre-season is at a high level,” McKay said.
Kako and Nate Caddy were close friends before they became Bombers.Credit: Getty Images
“That’s what stands out the most. He does the selfless stuff, his spark, his moments, you can already see that from his second practice game. That’s pretty rare for a young kid to have those moments.
“He’s a natural energy giver in terms of who he is as a person. It’s hard for the fans not to get around him.”
Kako and fellow teenager Nate Caddy shape as the great red-and-black hopes for a success-starved supporter base.
McKay, who has played on key forward Caddy in match simulation at training, said the young gun had improved significantly with a second pre-season under his belt.
“This time last year, compared to this time now, he’s evolved as a player,” McKay said.
“I know he’s only young but he’s a nightmare to play on – I mean that. I don’t say that lightly.
“His movement is next-level. He makes you think about him rather than our strengths. He’ll be a handful.
“There’s already a bit spoken about Nate and Isaac. Going forward, they’ll be a duo to look out for for 10 to 15 years. Nate’s improvement has been significant. I can’t wait to see what another 25 to 27 games does for his confidence.”
Could we see less ‘don’t argues’ from Harley Reid in 2025?
Roy Ward
If there was one takeaway from West Coast’s two-point win over North Melbourne – 11.5 (71) to 9.15 (69) – at a windy Bunbury on Saturday, it’s that we could see less of Harley Reid’s signature move in 2025.
The Eagles star had a spirited, physical battle with young Roos midfielder Tom Powell and produced his usual mix of hard-running possessions and confrontational play, despite concussion and lower leg issues restricting him at times during the pre-season.
West Coast’s Harley Reid gets a handball away against North Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images
Eagles premiership defender Will Schofield noticed a new element of Reid’s game where, on multiple occasions, he dished off the quick handball to running teammates, rather than fending off tacklers with his trademark “don’t argue” shove.
Throughout his decorated junior career, and even in his first AFL campaign last season, Reid would regularly back himself to shrug off opponents, rag-dolling even veteran senior players in the process.
But Schofield noted that Tongala product Reid had perhaps worked out that a quick handball to teammates was the more effective play.
“That was the second time I’ve seen Harley give a handball where I reckon last year he went the ‘don’t argue’,” Schofield said on Fox Footy after Reid’s handball helped set-up Jake Waterman’s third goal.
North Melbourne’s Jack Darling kicks for goal against his former side.Credit: Getty Images
“I know we love seeing the ‘don’t argue’ but a little give forward, as he learns his side of the game ... he will get better and better at that fine balance.”
North led for 84 minutes of the clash but the Eagles had the wind in the final term and a behind from Liam Ryan and goal from Liam Baker put them ahead for good with just a few minutes left.
The Roos’ midfield looked impressive but their team’s kicking for goal was poor.
West Coast’s Liam Baker - a two-time premiership winner in his time at Richmond - dishes off a handball.Credit: Getty Images
Roos star Harry Sheezel was all class, finishing with a goal and 36 possessions, while Colby McKercher, Finn O’Sullivan, Powell and Luke Davies-Uniacke all impressed in their roles.
Former Richmond mainstays Jack Graham and Baker were among West Coast’s best players, with Baker booting a goal from outside 50 in the final minutes.
Ryan was left without his left boot for a time in the third term and Roos defender Griffin Logue wasn’t giving him any reprieve as Ryan had to battle his own triple knotted shoelace and bat off attempts from Logue to knock the boot out of his hand.
Logue’s cheeky grin as he reached for the boot was priceless, but Ryan had the last laugh – winning a free kick soon after, and with his side taking the chocolates.
Key change made to AFL’s concussion protocol
Andrew Wu and Scott Spits
A leading concussion expert has welcomed the AFL’s move to give club doctors extra powers this year to intervene and stop play to take players off the field for head assessments in a drastic change to concussion protocols.
In an amendment to the concussion guidelines of both the AFL and AFLW, the league said the head injury assessment (HIA) removal process would operate similarly to the blood rule to assist with the management of head impacts and getting players off the ground as quickly and safely as possible.
The process will now allow club doctors, and in some cases club football managers, to notify the AFL’s match manager of the need to remove a player at the next break in play.
Concussed Magpie Nathan Murphy before he was subbed out of the 2023 grand final.Credit: Paul Rovere
The league said in a statement: “Brief HIAs can still be conducted on the field by the club doctor following a head impact at the doctor’s discretion without the need for the removal of the player, but doctors now have this additional mechanism to compel a player to be removed for further off-field assessment if required.”
Neuroscientist and concussion expert Dr Alan Pearce said it was a necessary though belated change by the AFL.
“I think it’s a good thing for the doctors to do their job properly,” Pearce said. “I’m supportive for the doctor’s sake as much as it is for the players as well.
“The rhetoric around athlete health and wellbeing has to be demonstrated, not just talked about. This is certainly an example of that change, but I think it’s a case of catching up.”
The AFL’s executive general manager of football Laura Kane said player health and safety was the driving force behind the change.
“This process ensures we do not have a protracted situation where either doctors or a runner or trainer are trying to remove a player from the field and the player runs off or ignores the call,” Kane said.
“It is important that we continue to make it easier for the doctors and clubs to manage any possible head impact.
“In the past 10 years, we have made more than 30 changes to our rules to protect the brain health of our players, and this change only further strengthens our commitment to player health and safety.“
The AFL said, under the HIA “removal process”, the relevant match manager will relay the information that a player needs to be taken from the ground to the emergency umpire, who will, in turn, pass that on to the field umpires.
Umpires will then stop play at the next break in play, such as:
- After any score
- When the ball is out of bounds, on the full, or through insufficient intent
- Any ball up
- If the ball is around an injured player who is clearly in the hands of medical staff, as is the current practice.
Kane said the AFL continued to consult club representatives about player welfare.
“We have had ongoing discussions with GMs of football with the overwhelming feedback that this additional measure will assist the club and doctors greatly in assessing and managing potential head impact injuries,” she said.
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