AFL teams 2022: Every confirmed Round 1 debutant
Two fresh draftees will make their debut for the Hawks, along with a former Magpie. And North Melbourne has locked in the No.1 pick.
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Hawthorn draftees Josh Ward and Connor MacDonald will make their AFL debuts against North Melbourne this weekend.
The two promising young midfielders both showed impressive signs during the Hawks’ practice matches.
Ward was taken at pick no. 7 and amassed 29 disposals in the AAMI Community Series game against Richmond while MacDonald (pick no.26) also looked at home through the midfield.
“They have worked incredibly hard over the course of the pre-season and produced some eye-catching performances in our practice matches,” Hawks Head of Football Rob McCartney said.
“First games are special moments, but to be able to do this alongside each other makes it even that more special.”
North Melbourne coach David Noble moved to take the pressure off number one draft pick Jason Horne-Francis after an emotional phone call with his parents confirmed he’d make his AFL debut in Round 1.
Noble said Horne-Francis, who was nominated as the standout player in last year’s draft a long time before the Kangaroos selected him, had “worked his butt off” and that his selection was never guaranteed just because of where he was taken.
And Noble said it wasn’t “all on Jason” to help lift North from the lower reaches of the ladder declaring the club’s entire draft crop had been “eye-catching” during the pre-season. Former Adelaide and Gold Coast midfielder Hugh Greenwood will also play his first game for North in Sunday’s clash with Hawthorn.
The Roos also confirmed Callum Coleman-Jones was set to play as they consider teaming him with fellow talls Todd Goldstein and Tristan Xerri.
DREAM PIES DEBUT LOCKED IN FOR FATHER-SON
Collingwood will unleash son-of-a-gun Nick Daicos against St Kilda on Friday in his AFL debut.
Pick four in last year’s AFL draft, the son of club legend Peter becomes the 45th father-son to represent Collingwood since 1892, with his brother, Josh, also on the Pies list having played 52 games.
The 18-year-old, who comes with serious expectations from magpie fans, starred with 31-disposals in a pre-season match against GWS to cemented his spot in the round one side.
Patrick Lipinski will also make his debut in the black and white in round one after a pre-season crossing from the Western Bulldogs.
The 23-year-old has trained fully this week after rolling his ankle in that game against the Giants.
It’s official.
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) March 15, 2022
Round 1 debut for Nick Daicos.
CROWS TO UNVEIL DRAFTEES, GUN RECRUIT
– Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Adelaide is set to blood three debutants, including the its star off-season recruit, against Fremantle on Sunday.
The Crows had their main training session on Wednesday at Adelaide Oval ahead of the clash against the Dockers.
Following the match sim component, Crows senior coach Matthew Nicks made the announcement to the playing group of some key inclusions of the season-opener.
Draftees Josh Rachele and Jake Soligo were told they will make their AFL debuts against the Dockers while Jordan Dawson is set to make his first appearance for the Crows.
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Dawson needed to get through Wednesday’s session to prove his fitness for the clash after struggling with a calf complaint.
But the gun recruit was moving well through match sim and had plenty of players congratulating him after Nicks’ announcements.
Nicks also announced that Wayne Milera, Matt Crouch and Mitch Hinge will also take on the Dockers.
Milera and Crouch missed the entirety of the 2021 season through a torn patella tendon and groin issues respectively.
Hinge made his debut for the Crows as the medical sub in Round 1 last year but dislocated his shoulder three times.
All three were with Dawson and Rachele on the stronger blue side during match sim.
Elliott Himmelberg was also on the stronger side and appears to be the replacement for the suspended Taylor Walker.
James Rowe looks set to return to the Crows side after missing the Community Series loss to Port Adelaide.
Star recruit on track for Round 1
Boom Adelaide recruit Jordan Dawson is making significant progress towards a Round 1 debut for the Crows.
Dawson didn’t feature for the Crows in any of their pre-season matches, first because of Covid-19 protocols and then through calf soreness.
CATS CONFIRM STENGLE DEBUT, YOUNG TALL NAMED
Josh Barnes, Geelong Advertiser
Veteran midfielder Mitch Duncan headlines a group of senior Cats ruled out of Saturday’s season opener against Essendon, but livewire recruit Tyson Stengle will make his Geelong debut.
Scott also confirmed youngster Sam De Koning would play the second game of his career as a tall defender.
Despite showing good signs in the past fortnight, Duncan didn’t get to the line after suffering a calf injury late in pre-season.
Defender Jed Bews will also miss the clash, having not recovered from the concussion he picked up on the Gold Coast in the Community Series in time.
Utility Mark O’Connor (knee) will be held back, while Sam Menegola and Gryan Miers were also ruled out.
The Cats worked on stoppage setups on Wednesday morning, with most of the best-22 players in blue training jumpers, while the likes of Shaun Higgins, Luke Dahlhaus and Quinton Narkle played as opposition in orange, possibly hinting they will miss selection.
Ruck Jonathon Ceglar (knee) and midfielder Sam Simpson (concussion) both started the session running laps.
Jack Henry has been cleared to play after he impressed on return from a footy injury in a VFL practice match against Newtown & Chilwell and will play.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said the Cats had taken a cautious route with its injured group but they could all be available within the opening rounds of the season.
“We are going to hold Mitch back, so that was a difficult decision for us because Mitch has been moving well the last couple of weeks but we are going to play the long game with a few of our really good players this week,” he said.
“Mitch is part of a group that are all short-term (injuries), we expect to have them back really soon into the season.”
Stengle will slot in at the feet of twin towers Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins after booting four goals in a practice game against Richmond and Scott said the former Tiger and Crow would add something different to the forward line as a genuine goal kicking threat.
“He is a great story, AFL footy generally does a great job of providing second chances to people and he hasn’t put a foot wrong this pre-season,” Scott said.
“We didn’t bring him in on a guarantee that he is in our team, he has to train and play and perform his way into our 22 forround 1 and he has done that really well.”
BOMBERS NAME FORWARD FOR FAIRYTALE DEBUT
Essendon key forward Kaine Baldwin has fought back from two ACL ruptures to be selected to make his AFL debut this weekend.
Baldwin was told on Tuesday he’d be making his debut in round 1 against Geelong on Saturday at the MCG following a long road for the teenager.
Essendon coach Ben Rutten praised Baldwin for being someone who’d “really embodied the DNA” of the club when announcing the news to the players on Tuesday.
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A former under-16 captain of the South Australian state side, the 194cm tall forward was tipped to be snapped up in the first round of the 2020 draft before his second severe knee injury cruelled him.
The 19-year-old was then selected in the 2021 pre-season supplemental selection period.
Baldwin earned his round 1 selection off the back of a strong pre-season, which included two impressive performances in Essendon’s practice match against the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda.
McCartin returns; Tiger, Eagle to debut
Reborn Swan Paddy McCartin’s journey back from football oblivion is only days away.
After sidestepping questions in recent weeks about whether McCartin was a Round 1 lock, Sydney coach John Longmire confirmed on Tuesday the former Saint needed only to negotiate training to play.
McCartin’s triumphant return in Sydney Derby XXIII on Saturday – in what will be his first AFL appearance in 1351 days – will be a heartwarming story after double-digit concussions.
McCartin, who was the AFL’s No. 1 draft pick in 2014, breathed new life into his football career last year with a switch from the forward line to defence for the Swans’ VFL team.
He has impressed, in particular, with his intercept marking in the pre-season, and is set to play alongside his younger brother Tom and All-Australian Dane Rampe.
“I fully appreciate the fact that it is a good story, there’s no question about that – he’s been through some real challenges,” Longmire said.
“It is a great story, but importantly, he’s earned the opportunity to be able to play.”
McCartin admitted in a harrowing radio interview three years ago that those repeated brain injuries – some of them innocuous hits – left him “a shell of a person that I was”.
But his decision to take a year off football in 2020, which ended up being Covid-impacted, anyway, paved the way for him to play at the top level again.
Sydney invited McCartin to train with its AFL squad this past summer and officially signed him in January.
He kicked 34 goals in 35 games for St Kilda between 2015 and 2018.
Meanwhile, Richmond youngster Josh Gibcus will make his AFL debut on Thursday night against Carlton.
Coach Damien Hardwick said on Wednesday the emergence of the young defender has allowed key position player Noah Balta to be a presence up forward in a three-pronged tall forward line, alongside veterans Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch.
“Bringing in Robbie Tarrant has certainly helped with a bigger body down there also, and the emergence of Josh Gibcus, our first-round pick, has allowed us to move a few things around,” Hardwick said.
Gibcus was selected with pick 9 in last year’s draft, the Tigers’ first top-10 selection since Nick Vlastuin in 2012.
Hardwick remains bullish about the Tigers’ season prospects despite missing finals last year but acknowledged they had some catching up to do.
“Our expectations are high, so we expect to play some good footy for a long period of time, but there are some sides that have gone past us,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure we continue to play our very best footy and put our best foot forward.
“The greatest thing about an AFL coach and all coaches is you’re always trying to be the underdog – and we are that this year, so that’s our challenge.”
Eagles to unveil fresh faces
– Jordan McArdle
West Coast coach Adam Simpson has revealed draftee Brady Hough will make his AFL debut against Gold Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
In a silver lining to the club’s injury crisis, the Peel Thunder and Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault product will be rewarded for his strong pre-season with an opening-round berth.
Simpson said Hough, a silky-skilled halfback/midfielder, has adapted well in his first summer at Mineral Resources Park.
Pick 31 in last year’s national draft, the athletic 19-year-old has been likened to Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury because of his composure with ball in hand.
It’s been a remarkable rise considering he was playing country footy in the South West competition a little over 18 months ago before trying his luck with the Thunder’s WAFL colts.
“He’ll play this week, he’ll debut for the football club,” Simpson said.
“He’s just adapted to every level he’s gone up to.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing him play.”
Hough played in both pre-season matches against Fremantle, amassing 14 disposals at 71 per cent efficiency to go with eight marks and three intercept possessions in the latter.
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Originally published as AFL teams 2022: Every confirmed Round 1 debutant
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