By Jon Pierik and Andrew Wu
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- Carlton welcome back Charlie Curnow, but have selection headaches in defence.
- Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has conceded Jamarra-Ugle Hagan may not play a senior game this season.
- Premiership star Jordan De Goey is a certain starter for Friday night’s blockbuster against the Western Bulldogs.
One welcome return for Blues but other options are limited
Andrew Wu
Carlton superstar Charlie Curnow has been cleared to make his eagerly-awaited return, but the Blues may have no choice but to stick with their bumbling backline due to a lack of available reinforcements waiting in the wings.
The Blues will welcome spearhead Charlie Curnow back into their forward line.Credit: Getty Images
With up to 20mm of rain forecast on Thursday, Nick Haynes and, to a lesser extent, Mitch McGovern are under the pump after poor performances in the shock loss to Richmond. But the Blues are running out of options heading into the clash against Hawthorn.
Speedy forward Orazio Fantasia has hit another hurdle after injuring his calf late last week at training, ruling him out until at least round five, though he was not in line to ease the Blues’ headaches in defence.
Youngster Matt Carroll, a pre-season supplemental selection, rolled his ankle late in a VFL practice match at the weekend and did not train with the main group on Monday. Though he was not ruled out on Tuesday, it would not be the ideal lead-up to a senior debut.
Small defender Jordan Boyd was on managed minutes in the VFL last week after an injury-interrupted pre-season. Key back Lewis Young is available, though the Blues would be going in with an even taller defensive set-up if he was recalled against Hawthorn’s smaller and speedier forward line.
The Blues could swing last week’s sub, veteran Sam Docherty, back into defence, a position where he was an All Australian in 2017, though he trained primarily as a midfielder over the summer.
Ugle-Hagan may not play at all this season
Jon Pierik
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has conceded Jamarra-Ugle Hagan may not play a senior game this season.
Ugle-Hagan, 22, continues to work through personal challenges, and is regularly training away from the club.
He missed the season opener against North Melbourne, and must complete a long training block – and regain the confidence of key figures within the club – before he is deemed fit to play.
In an exclusive interview with this masthead earlier this month, Beveridge said there was no guarantee the athletic forward would be fully back in the fold in the short term. He said Ugle-Hagan would not be selected until senior people at the club believed he had earned his place back in the team, and “I don’t know when that will be”.
Luke Beveridge says there is no guarantee Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will play this season.Credit: Justin McManus
Now the coach has conceded Ugle-Hagan may not be in the senior mix at all this season.
“I can’t answer that definitively … we are hoping,” Beveridge told AFL360 when asked whether he thought Ugle-Hagan would play this season.
“Like some of the other answers, time will tell.”
Ugle-Hagan signed a contract extension with the Bulldogs last season, tying him to the club until the end of 2026. He has booted 103 goals in his first four seasons.
Beveridge last week said his relationship with Ugle-Hagan was one of “care and nurturing”.
“I’ve had a relationship with him the whole way through and it’s been one of care and nurturing and what’s transpired over the recent times, things have changed in relation to his being on campus,” Beveridge said.
“So as a club and as the team’s moving forward, now we’re trying to bring him back into the tent, and so we’re looking for him to provide energy and commitment to that. With the challenges he faces, there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen in the short-term.
“I’m trying to stay out of his hair and let others sort of manage a lot of that and help him through it. He just knows that I’m here, and ultimately, we’re hoping that he’s going to be able to invest fully in the future.
“So nothing’s really changed, other than he’s not a part of the week-to-week discussion around being part of the team.”
The Bulldogs will revert to their old name of Footscray on Friday when they mark their centenary with a blockbuster clash against Collingwood at the MCG. Skipper Marcus Bontempelli (calf) has begun running but Beveridge said he was still three weeks away from returning.
De Goey to return for Bulldogs clash
Jon Pierik
Premiership star Jordan De Goey is a certain starter for Friday night’s blockbuster against the Western Bulldogs.
Ready to roll: Jordan De Goey is ready to face the Bulldogs.Credit: Getty Images
De Goey, who has been dealing with bone bruising to his knee, trained strongly on Tuesday and has been declared fit to return.
“We are rapt to have Jordy back. His magnet has been getting closer and closer. It’s nice to say he is available, fit to play and fit to perform,” Magpies coach Craig McRae said on Tuesday.
“We played the long game with him. We have put a lot of load into him, making sure that he is ready to take on the season. It’s a long season. He could have played last week. He could have probably played the week before. But at a level that we want him to be able to play consistently throughout the year, we have played the long game.”
McRae said the 2023 premiership midfielder would not be on restricted minutes.
“No, no. He has done a power of work. The way he trained today was exciting. Hopefully, he can produce something like that,” McRae said.
De Goey began the pre-season completing a 10-day stint in Doha at an internationally renowned sports medicine practice in Qatar, having played just 13 games last year because of groin, abdominal and hamstring injuries.
He had returned to full training in late January, but then suffered bone bruising, ruling him out of the practice matches.
McRae said Will Hoskin-Elliott (back) was also fit to return.
While this game will be a milestone night for the Bulldogs, Magpie veterans Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom will break the VFL-AFL record for most games played together as teammates.
They will step out together for the 308th time, edging Adelaide pair Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards for the record.
“It’s remarkable Steele and Pendles are breaking the record for games ever played together,” McRae said.
“To see Steele do his stuff last week, running on top of the ground, and then you just don’t see the work Pendles does for us. Guys in our four walls just appreciate the little things he does … he is an incredible statesman for the game and our footy club.”
Pendlebury, 37, began last weekend’s win over Port Adelaide as the substitute, a decision McRae again defended, stressing it was a long season ahead and players needed to be handled properly.
“It’s March. We have to realise, ideally, we get ourselves into a position to play beyond August. It’s a long time away,” McRae said.
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