AFL round 19: All the latest selection news ahead of round 19

Jordan De Goey was a notable absentee at Collingwood training as the Pies ramp up for a Sunday clash with Port Adelaide. Keep up with all the latest

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – JULY 15: Rowan Marshall of the Saints looks dejected after his team loses the round 18 AFL match between Gold Coast Suns and St Kilda Saints at Heritage Bank Stadium, on July 15, 2023, in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Jordan De Goey will train away from Collingwood on Thursday, as he attempts to shrug off a virus in time for Saturday’s blockbuster against Port Adelaide.

The superstar midfielder has not been in the club this week, after becoming the latest in a string of Magpies to go down with illness this season.

He was not on the track for main training as Collingwood went through match simulation on Thursday morning. Coach Craig McRae said De Goey would train elsewhere on Thursday, but he was expected to fly to Adelaide on Friday.

“The latest is it is viral, like all of our players, if they are sick you don’t want them in the rooms, he will train off site later today,” McRae said of De Goey on Thursday.

“We anticipate he will be in (on Friday) and travelling with us.”

McRae said the Magpies have become a well-oiled machine in quarantining key players when sick to get them up to play.

Each of Josh Daicos, Ash Johnson, Jack Ginnivan, Dan McStay have battled sickness at some point this season, while De Goey himself was a late withdrawal in round 5 with illness.

“What do you reckon that is?” McRae queried.

Jordan De Goey is believed to be dealing with illness. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“The reality is for us and others in the competition is it happens but I think for us we have the cameras and the eyes on us like you guys have for our training session.

“I think every other club in the land has this, it is just not as publicised as (with Collingwood).”

Ruck Darcy Cameron trained strongly on Thursday, featuring in a side wearing black made up predominately of first-choice Magpies.

That side featured Brody Mihocek up forward, alongside Mason Cox and McStay, with Johnson in the opposition white team.

McRae said Cameron (back) and Mihocek (hamstring) were fit to face the Power in a top-two tussle, creating a headache for selectors, with only Will Hoskin-Elliott (hand) on the injury list among those in contention for Collingwood’s best side.

“(Cameron and Mihocek) trained really well so they will come into selection and it will be hard to leave those two out,” he said.

McRae was happy to buy into the hype of the top-of-the-table clash, declaring it would fit the bill as one of the season’s most-anticipated games.

“Why would you play this game down? This is one of the best games you will see this year in terms of the opportunity and to show what you are made of,” McRae said.

“We are going to step into that.”

Steele backs Ross’ brutal list call as forgotten forward eyes return

Forgotten forward Jack Hayes is in the frame to be called upon to fix St Kilda’s scoring woes as Saints skipper Jack Steele says criticism of his club’s list by coach Ross Lyon is “probably fair enough”.

The Saints have a golden opportunity in the next fortnight to shore up their flailing attacking game, which Steele pointed to as a primary concern after Saturday’s bitter 26-point loss to Gold Coast.

St Kilda remains in sixth spot on the ladder, with North Melbourne and Hawthorn to come in the next two weeks, but Steele said missing the finals from here would not mean a failed season.

Jack Hayes is set to return to the Saints’ side. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Lyon brutally said post-match on Saturday that “there is not enough quality” in the St Kilda team to pick up the slack when star performers aren’t at their best and Steele agreed the role playing Saints needed to step up.

Running defender Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and hard worker Marcus Windhager have performed in recent weeks for St Kilda but the likes of Liam Stocker, Anthony Caminiti, Mason Wood and Dan Butler didn’t have enough impact against the Suns.

“It’s probably fair enough,” Steele said of Lyon’s assessment.

“Our best performers probably need to just keep things going and keep driving he standards but we probably need the second tier or third tier to lift even more.

“We probably haven’t had that in the last six or seven weeks of football. We saw early in the year when we were contributing evenly to our performances but that has definitely tapered off the last couple of months.”

An undefeated first month marked a brilliant start to Ross Lyon’s second stint at Moorabbin but the Saints have gone 5-8 since as their offensive game has fallen to pieces.

St Kilda still sits in sixth on the ladder but only the bottom three clubs (West Coast, North Melbourne and Hawthorn) have scored less this season.

The Saints are at risk of a second straight year of missing the top eight after a blistering start to the season. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Lyon bemoaned mistakes kicking inside-50 against the Suns and Steele said he “can’t pinpoint exactly what went wrong but I think our ball movement wasn’t great”.

The Saints rank 10th for inside-50 differential, so they get the ball forward enough, but sit dead last for scores once inside-50.

Crying out for winners forward of centre, the Saints will weigh up bringing Hayes in for his first game since rupturing his ACL in round 6 last year, with subsequent foot and hamstring injuries keeping him out of action in 2023.

Hayes played in a VFL scratch match at Casey on Saturday and Steele said he “has put his hand up” and “I would love to be able to play with him”.

Livewire forward Jack Higgins (knee) also trained on Tuesday and is set to return if he gets through a test, while Jack Billings (thumb) is an outside chance.

Originally published as AFL round 19: All the latest selection news ahead of round 19