Injury news: All the latest updates from round 7
Patrick Dangerfield’s latest hamstring injury will put him out of clashes with some the AFL’s best midfields, but when will he return? Plus, a young Hawk has suffered a horrific injury in the VFL.
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Patrick Dangerfield’s sixth hamstring strain is set to sideline him for a quartet of clashes against footy’s best midfield units as the club’s off-season training was backed by sports medical experts.
Leading sports doctor Peter Larkins on Sunday said Dangerfield could miss anywhere between 4-8 weeks given the second hamstring issue of the season will force the Cats to take a conservative approach.
Dangerfield, 34, missed only three weeks with a minor hamstring issue suffered in round 3 but the Cats will now have no alternative but to nurse him through a more extensive rehab program.
Last year’s low-grade hamstring issue saw him missing six weeks from round 8 to round 14 after a diagnosis that initially had the club forecasting he would be missing three weeks.
That quartet of games coming up see Geelong’s midfield going head to head with Melbourne (Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver), Port Adelaide (Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis), Gold Coast (Touk Miller, Noah Anderson, Touk Miller) and GWS (Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio, Tom Green).
Larkins said on Sunday the club’s eight-week recovery program with Cam Guthrie (quad) foreshadowed how conservative they would be with Dangerfield.
“You are not going to rush Dangerfield back so it will be within that 4-6 week period. Geelong did a great job with a great plan for Guthrie and you can see with those soft-tissue injuries at clubs they are going the conservative route. It’s four weeks minimum and any tendon involvement would put it at 6-8 weeks so anything in that 4-8 week range is more likely,” he said.
Dangerfield said in the pre-season the club had put more high-speed work into their players to bulletproof them from soft tissue injuries and Larkins backed that approach.
“If anything Geelong has been criticised for not being a quick team, Larkins said.
“Their ball movement is quick but they have done more speed work and that’s the conditioning you do so you don’t get injured in a game. There is no fault towards that preparation. The No. 1 injury 20 years ago in terms of lost games was the hamstring and in 2024 the hamstring is still the No1. challenge, especially for older players in terms of their body and flexibility.”
YOUNG HAWK DOWN IN SCARY SCENES
Hawthorn forward Sam Butler has suffered a broken left leg playing for Box Hill in Chad Wingard’s comeback game from a torn achilles.
The Hawks confirmed on Sunday speedster Butler had been taken off on a stretcher after an incident.
It is understood he has suffered a break closer to his ankle in his left leg.
He had played the last two games in the Hawthorn seniors but was dropped, with the 21-year-old showing real promise in his 19 games across three seasons as No.23 pick in the 2021 national draft.
Wingard has made a speedy return from his own issues and kicked two goals in the first half of the contest at Box Hill City Oval.
He might need more time before he is recalled to the seniors but the Hawks have been thrilled with his progress and professionalism since the achilles tear in round 22 last year.
Sydney’s Luke Parker won 15 possessions in the first half as he comes back from a broken arm.
Sydney’s policy is to bring back its senior players through the VFL no matter their talent after medium-term injuries.
Even Lance Franklin returned through a practice match off a recent injury, with Parker playing his first state league games since two NEAFL contests in 2012.
If he gets through the contest unscathed he will be ready to take on Greater Western Sydney next week, with the Hawks and Swans playing at the MCG this afternoon.
Lance Franklin will take part in a lap of honour pre-match after declining to be part of the AFL’s Grand Final motorcade last year.
STAR DOG FORCED TO SIT
- Jon Ralph
Western Bulldogs star Cody Weightman will need surgery on his dislocated elbow and miss at least six weeks as Tom Liberatore and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan prepare to return against Hawthorn on Sunday.
The Dogs fell short against Fremantle on Saturday night as coach Luke Beveride bemoaned “another one that got away for us as far as the close ones go”.
The Dockers ended up winning by four goals but the game was up for grabs late until the Dogs’ midfield belting at the hands of Fremantle finally caught up with them.
Liberatore was a late withdrawal through illness, while Ugle-Hagan missed a second game through family issues but will be ready against the Hawks.
The Dogs on Sunday accepted small forward Rhylee West’s one-week ban for a high shepherd on Fremantle’s Brandon Walker which sidelined the Docker with a SCAT 6 test before he returned.
He will miss the Hawks game after the MRO decided it was a rough conduct charge worthy of medium-impact.
Weightman has played on this season despite dislocating an elbow he initially injured for the first time in 2022.
But after he was subbed off when he jarred it falling in a marking contest, Beveridge admitted he might need surgery.
North Melbourne’s Brayden George had off-season surgery for that issue and it cost him 12 weeks, the same time frame as Lachie Plowman was sidelined for with his elbow dislocation surgery in 2015.
The Dogs said on Monday he would miss at least six weeks but he could be sidelined for longer.
“I don’t know whether he will need to have something done with that,” Beveridge said.
“As good a player as Cody is, things happen. Ultimately we hope he’s OK but he will need to have it looked at again and we will need to take a longer term approach with him.
“Not that our staff haven’t but he’s such a tough bugger he stays on the ground. In the past he somehow has found a way but we will work through it with our medical crew.”
Ugle-Hagan missed Monday’s training session so did not fly with the team to Perth but should replace Rory Lobb, who was quiet against his old side.
“He trained this morning and trained strongly so we are hoping that he will be available for selection and if he is good to go then he’s likely to come into the team,” Beveridge said.
While the margin eventually blew out Beveridge said his side had not seized the day in close games, having lost all five games decided by 12 or less points since round 18 last year.
“Contest is the key. We lost that and it’s not an ideal starting point. We were in an arm wrestle and we have to measure ourselves on how we come through in these tight games against an opponent who has been stung the week before and up until the last quarter we were coming and giving ourselves a chance. They worked hard and responded to a difficult week and it’s another one that got away for us as far as the close ones go.”
INJURY WRAP: WEBSTER TO RETURN AFTER LONG SUSPENSION
Banned Saint Jimmy Webster is available to take on North Melbourne next weekend – at either AFL or VFL level – as he prepares to resume from a seven-game suspension for his brutal pre-season bump on Kangaroos captain Jy Simpkin.
In what could be a fiery clash with the Kangaroos, Webster will push for senior selection in an effort to help arrest the Saints’ frustrating start to the season, though his lack of match conditioning might mean he has to settle for a comeback with Sandringham at VFL level.
Webster played in a VFL scratch match last week, but will be monitored at training this week to determine at which level he returns.
Whatever happens, he will take on the Kangaroos, as the Saints and Sandringham are both scheduled to take on North Melbourne next Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Webster was extremely remorseful after his late, high bump on Simpkin left the midfielder concussed, with a host of North Melbourne players remonstrating with the St Kilda player after the incident.
It was Simpkin’s third concussion in nine months.
Webster was sent directly to the tribunal where he copped the wrath of a long suspension, which also set a potential return date against the team – and player – he transgressed against.
He is fit to play next week after a strong training block, with the Saints yet to make a decision on whether he resumes through the second tier or whether comes straight back into the AFL side that is struggling with a 2-5 win-loss ledger.
INJURY LATEST: DONS PAIR SET FOR RETURN, HOPPER DIAGNOSIS
— Jon Ralph
Essendon expects Archie Perkins and Matt Guelfi to return against West Coast next week as Dylan Shiel attempts to finally break into the Dons midfield.
Shiel will play his third VFL game in a row on Saturday off a summer of injuries and is match-fit but was not selected on Anzac Day.
The Dons play West Coast twice as well as battling Richmond and Adelaide in the next seven weeks so have a chance to set up their season.
Essendon’s VFL side takes on Collingwood on Saturday at Victoria Park with Shiel given another chance to push his selection claims after 24 strong possessions last week.
The Dons midfield was too good in the centre square for Collingwood on Anzac Day in the epic draw and with Sam Durham and Jye Caldwell making a strong impression he is no certainty to take on the Eagles at Optus Stadium.
Elijah Tsatas will also play in that clash after being the sub in round 6 and then dropped for Anzac Day.
Perkins will be ready off a hamstring strain next week, with the Dons strongly considering playing Guelfi in Anzac Day off a round 2 calf injury despite a month-long absence.
He played as a defensive forward against James Sicily with considerable success in that early-season clash so while the Dons forward line is stacked he adds another dimension.
Dons midfielder Will Setterfield is battling a PCL issue that he first stirred up against Sydney when he collided with the hard cricket pitch in the middle of the SCG.
He returned in round 5 but was again sore so he is at least two weeks away as the Dons ensure when he again plays seniors it is fully fit.
Richmond has confirmed Jacob Hopper’s hamstring injury is at the milder end of the scale and might only sideline him for two or three weeks.
His scan results came back on Friday and will see him missing games against Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs at a minimum.
Richmond is hopeful Jayden Short (calf) might be available for that Dockers clash but Noah Balta (knee) and Dion Prestia (hamstring) are another week away.
Western Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will not play at any level this week as the Dogs VFL side takes on an AFL Academy side consisting of the country’s best young talents.
Coach Luke Beveridge has suggested Ugle-Hagan, away from the club until Tuesday and missing the clash against Fremantle, might play in the VFL.
But after missing training as he dealt with a personal issue over the weekend he will rest up and be ready for the round 9 clash against Richmond.
Caleb Daniel will play in the VFL against the academy side after a pair of strong VFL encounters that were not enough to see him recalled against the Dockers.
The Dogs short injury list — with only Bailey Smith and Nick Coffield out of the club’s best 22 — means Daniel might have to bide his time in the VFL until he gets another opportunity.
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Originally published as Injury news: All the latest updates from round 7
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