Gold Coast Suns AFL: Jake Rogers in selection frame after Malcolm Rosas Jnr hamstring injury

Malcolm Rosas Jnr’s hamstring injury could open the door for Gold Coast to unleash yet another Suns Academy product against Sydney this weekend.

Malcolm Rosas Jnr’s hamstring injury could open the door for Gold Coast to unleash yet another Suns Academy product against Sydney this weekend.

The club on Tuesday confirmed Rosas Jnr was expected to be sidelined for the next eight weeks after scans revealed “significant damage” to his hamstring.

It’s a cruel blow for the livewire small forward, who had started the season in arguably the best form of his career with seven goals in three games and had already hit the scoreboard against Hawthorn on Saturday night before pulling up lame midway through the third quarter.

Malcolm Rosas of the Suns is helped off the ground against Hawthorn. Picture: Getty Images

However the upshot of the Rosas Jnr injury is the opportunity it gives Damien Hardwick to hand the fifth and final Academy graduate from the 2023 draft class his senior start.

Jake Rogers has watched Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Will Graham and Sam Clohesy all make triumphant AFL debuts over the past month while he worked his way back to form and fitness following a pre-season lower back injury.

Hardwick last week declared Rogers was close to earning his own AFL call-up – and that came before an impressive VFL display against Box Hill which included 20 disposals and five clearances swapping between midfield and forward.

Rogers was considered the cleanest player below his knees of any in last year’s draft pool and that skill set has coaches and teammates salivating over what he could produce at AFL level.

“He’s definitely in the frame (for selection),” declared Suns spearhead Ben King on Tuesday.

“I watched him play VFL on the weekend and he was unreal. He’s highly talented, Jakey.”

Hardwick’s hint last week suggested Rogers was already banging the door down for an AFL start but he also has another ally ready to go into bat for him.

It could be time for Jake Rogers to debut. Photo: Chris Hyde / Getty Images

“I’d love to see him play this weekend, but it’s Dimma’s choice,” said two-gamer Read, who grew up playing with Rogers in the Suns Academy.

“Jake’s a great player and he deserves to be in the team, but again it’s up to the coaches.

“I love the way Jake plays. I don’t think he fumbled once last year. He’s a very clean player – tough, composed, great left foot and right foot, and he’s so good at ground level as well.”

Rogers was one of three names Hardwick threw up as a possible Rosas Jnr replacement, alongside Darcy Macpherson and Ben Long.

Macpherson came on as a sub in the first two games of the season but has not featured since, while Long was subbed out in his only game this year against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat – though the former Saint did boot five goals against Box Hill at the weekend.

The Suns play the Swans in Sydney on Sunday in another perfect test of their finals credentials.

Hardwick has already shown he is not afraid to name debutants in the big games, after he handed Read, Graham and Clohesy their first starts against the Giants in Adelaide a fortnight ago.

If Rogers does not earn the nod this weekend, he could be in line to debut the following week when the Suns return home to host West Coast.

Originally published as Gold Coast Suns AFL: Jake Rogers in selection frame after Malcolm Rosas Jnr hamstring injury