AFL pre-season: Malcolm Rosas to miss Suns’ clash with Giants after quad injury

Damien Hardwick still appears undecided on the best forward mix at the Suns, and their newest injury concern could not come at a worse time.

Gold Coast forward Malcolm Rosas Jr will not feature in the Suns’ Community Series clash with the Giants on Thursday night after suffering a quad strain late in last week’s pre-season hitout against Brisbane.

Rosas was a notable absentee at training on Tuesday and assistant coach Shaun Grigg later revealed the 22-year-old had “pulled up tight” after the Lions match and would not play the Giants.

“Unfortunately he got a bit of an injury in his quad so we won’t see him this week,” Grigg said.

“Hopefully he’s not too far away. It’s an unfortunate time for Mally. He’s a silky player … we’re looking forward to getting him back amongst it.”

Malcolm Rosas will miss the Suns’ next practice game. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

Rosas’ injury comes at the worst possible time for both he and new coach Damien Hardwick, who still appears undecided on the forward 50 makeup ahead of the Opening Round clash against Richmond on March 9.

Hardwick revealed earlier this month that Rosas was “probably behind a few players at this stage” of pre-season, suggesting the silky small forward was on the outer for an Opening Round berth with the likes of James Tsitas, Tom Berry and Darcy Macpherson all seemingly preferred.

But after his forward line struggled to fire against the Lions last week – and Rosas impressed in a mid-forward hybrid role during the VFL hitout – it could have opened the door for the Darwin product to break his way back into calculations, before this latest injury setback.

“Highly talented player still trying to find his way,” Hardwick said of Rosas.

“When the ball is in his hands special things happen. We just have to make sure we can get the ball in his hands more.

“The challenge for Rosas is I don’t want to fit a square peg in a round hole. He’s an unstructured player. If I try to make him play structured, it doesn’t allow him to play to his strengths.”

When the young forward signed a two-year contract extension last August he outlined a desire to play more midfield minutes but with the known caveat that he had to seriously improve his running capacity.

Such a role appears to be part of Hardwick’s long term plan for Rosas as evidenced by his midfield minutes against the Lions.

Hardwick’s side was beaten easily by the Lions in their first hitout. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

With Izak Rankine’s Adelaide departure at the end of 2022 the magnifying glass shone on Rosas to fill those boots inside 50 – a comparison he disliked then and now.

The young forward has shown flashes of absolute brilliance throughout his career but has so far not been able to capture the consistency that he and Hardwick want and believe he can produce.

“I just need to switch on and be consistent with my performances,” Rosas told this masthead.

“I’m playing more mid time now so I can just play instead of being in the structure of a forward (line). He (Hardwick) wants me to just get to as many contests as I can and just play football – just play football.

“I’ve focused this pre-season on building my tank so I can get to more contests. It’s a whole different way of playing as a mid, because the running patterns are so different to a forward.

“Right now it’s just a matter of consistency for me.”

Originally published as AFL pre-season: Malcolm Rosas to miss Suns’ clash with Giants after quad injury