AFL Finals 2023: All the latest news from training as Collingwood and Carlton prepare for prelims
Collingwood and Carlton have hit the track on Monday ahead of this weekend’s preliminary finals – and there’s mixed news for fans. Get the latest from training, including full picture galleries.
Collingwood and Carlton have hit the track on Monday ahead of this weekend’s preliminary finals – and there’s mixed news.
Lauren Wood and Josh Barnes are on deck at training with all the key takeouts.
COLLINGWOOD TRACK WATCH
Injured Collingwood midfielder Taylor Adams has declared he has surpassed his own expectations as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Adams – who has been ruled out of the clash – was late to the track on Monday but went straight into light running drills.
Adams and fellow injured Pie Ash Johnson completed a number of running and agility exercises on the far side of Olympic Park Oval as their teammates went through ball drills in front of a healthy school holidays crowd.
Adams’ knees were up and the spirits were, too, with the midfielder declaring on the weekend that he was “still a chance to get back and play some footy”, with a grand final no doubt his likeliest shot at another appearance this season after he was ruled out of this Friday night’s preliminary final at the MCG.
He then went on to run laps as his teammates went through their paces, receiving a rousing reception from the entire group as it took a break and he ran past.
“Ticked a few boxes, got back running and probably exceeded where I thought I’d be at,” Adams said after Monday’s session.
“All positive.”
Skipper Darcy Moore trained fully in the 90-minute Monday morning session, after shrugging off a wrist issue in the lead-up to the Magpies’ huge preliminary final against Greater Western Sydney.
Moore – who had a cast fitted to his right wrist last week amid a tendon issue – had his wrist taped and despite playing with and inspecting the strapping on a number of occasions, marked and kicked strongly.
The club has remained optimistic since the issue surfaced that Moore – complete with blue bandana for the entire session – would not be in doubt to play against the Giants.
At one point, Moore had his right ankle checked out by club medical staff but was quickly back into the action.
Midfielder Jack Crisp was worked on by a medico early in the session, in particular the inside of his left hamstring, but then ran and trained unhampered.
Assistant coach Brendon Bolton led a drill for players to break a tackle and burst from a pack, which dropped defender John Noble — who trained in a black jumper generally signalling the senior team — did with ease as he fights for a return to the side, while senior coach Craig McRae was in the thick of the action, feeding sharp kicks in to start a forward 50 exercise.
Forward Jack Ginnivan – who played as the sub in the team’s qualifying final – kept energy levels high complete with his pink headband as he eyes a spot in the starting team, but wore a white jumper for training – the uniform donned by the majority of VFL players at the session – along with defender Nathan Murphy.
Bobby Hill – who missed training on Friday and Sunday due to a personal matter – completed early drills but then ran on the boundary under the eye of club fitness staff.
The big cheers from teammates - and the fans - at Collingwood training on Monday were saved for Taylor Adams as he ran laps away from the main group.@LaurenHeraldSun has the latest from the track as two key Pies go at full tilt: https://t.co/Cj7BykgRmUpic.twitter.com/yOK441aI39
— SuperFooty (AFL) (@superfooty) September 18, 2023
CARLTON TRACK WATCH
Banged up Blue Sam Docherty only made the briefest of appearances, while in-form defender Nic Newman also left the track early as Carlton ran through a light session on Monday.
Docherty dislocated his shoulder in the semi-final stunner on Friday night and only stepped out for 20 minutes on Monday to take part in a few run throughs.
The veteran was only expected to be on light duties and he trained in runners.
He said on Saturday that scans on his sore shoulder would likely not impact whether he would play in the preliminary final and the decision would come down to whether he has enough movement in his arm.
Docherty did not test out that left arm and did some short kicking around his jogging but has been working on its strength in the gym since the semi-final.
An important part of the win over Melbourne, Newman was part of a group of Blues jogging away from the main group and he went back inside the rooms after just 15 minutes.
Also in the group taking it easy was Jacob Weitering, Brodie Kemp, David Cuningham, Marc Pittonet and Mitch McGovern.
September hero Blake Acres showed no signs of his own shoulder woes as he trained fully with the main group and is expected to play in Saturday’s preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions.
Harry McKay looked lively as he returns from concussion, while Jack Martin (suspension) was also on track.
Toiling away
As the main contingent of Blues left he track after about an hour, most of the players who did not play in the semi-final carried on with a ball movement drill led by coach Michael Voss.
McKay stayed out there with that group and moved well, with young Carlton fans in full voice when he handed out a souvenir footy.
When in drills with Curnow earlier, McKay played a deeper forward as the pair worked on their chemistry.
Jack Silvagni, Zac Fisher, Paddy Dow and Friday’s sub, Ollie Hollands, carried on with the depth players.
The ever-energetic Hollands was one of the last players on the track, and spent 15 minutes taking shots at goal.
Birthday cheer
After their warm-up, the Blues players got together for a short speech in the middle of Ikon Park.
A cheer came up, with birthday boy Lochie O’Brien patted on the head and enjoying a couple of handshakes.
O’Brien turned 24 on Monday and hasn’t played in the seniors since round 12.
Carlton fans turned out for training on Monday - but not all their heroes were out there for long 👀@Josh__Barnes has the latest on a few banged up Blues: https://t.co/Cj7BykgRmUpic.twitter.com/ml1BRo4Mdg
— SuperFooty (AFL) (@superfooty) September 18, 2023
Blues find voice
The Carlton fans waited patiently until 10.45am for the session to start but the mood remained up ahead of the club’s first preliminary final in 23 years.
The Blues were expecting more than 6000 fans and the early crowd surpassed that mark, with the famous club theme song in constant rotation.
Curnow was clearly the fan favourite, while September star Sam Walsh has won over the younger fans.
The theme of the chat among the Carlton fans was concern about the price of flights to Brisbane on the weekend.
With costs soaring, many faithful Bluebaggers said they would stay home and keep their powder dry in the hope of playing again the next week in the grand final.
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