Essendon draftee Sullivan Robey scales back training loads after injury scare just days after being drafted by Bombers
One of the Bombers’ top draftees already facing an injury scare just days after being drafted as the club’s injury list mounts only weeks into pre-season.
Prized Essendon draftee Sullivan Robey will slow down his first pre-season after routine scans revealed back hot spots.
A tall midfielder who bolted up draft boards late this year, Robey walked into the Hangar this week and standard post-draftee medical screening showed stress related hot spots in his back.
Medical screening for new faces like draftees is common and Robey’s issue was picked up immediately by the Essendon medical staff.
The Bombers are hopeful the setback is only minor, with Robey now on a modified program until the New Year, when it is planned that he will ramp up his loads.
The Eastern Ranges bolter grew 17cm in the two years before he was drafted and stacked on muscle as he began to take hold of under-18 matches and fly up draft boards.
He was taken by the Bombers with the first of their three first-round picks, at No.9.
Robey will follow a similar pre-season path to forward Nate Caddy.
This masthead revealed last week that Caddy would also scale down his training after reporting groin soreness, an issue that caused him to end his season early.
Playmaker Nic Martin’s return from an ACL injury remains under a cloud as he waits to meet with his surgeon in the wake of a training mishap.
Martin re-injured his knee in the training slip but is yet to meet with his surgeon to look over the extent of the damage.
The Dons had a disastrous 2025 campaign on the injury front, which saw the club revamp its fitness department under new high performance boss Mat Inness.
Originally published as Essendon draftee Sullivan Robey scales back training loads after injury scare just days after being drafted by Bombers
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