Southern Mallee Thunder coach Kieran Delahunty to miss most of season
The Wimmera league runner-up of the past two seasons has suffered a major blow in the lead-up to another bout with the competition pace setters.
Southern Mallee Thunder’s flag hopes in the Wimmera league have taken a big hit with coach Kieran Delahunty forced onto the sidelines with a broken leg.
Delahunty broke the fibula bone in his lower leg early in the final quarter of the Thunder’s impressive 43-point win against the previously undefeated Minyip-Murtoa at Jeparit last Saturday.
He is expected to miss at least three months with a comeback on the eve of finals the best-case scenario.
Thunder plays Ararat on Saturday in their first meeting since last year’s grand final when the Rats completed back-to-back flags.
Ararat’s 2023 grand final win was also against Southern Mallee.
Delahunty said he lost balance at the first ruck contest of the final term and was the victim of some “friendly fire” when a teammate accidentally crashed into his lower leg.
“I thought I just had a bad corky and tried to run on it for the next 10 minutes,” Delahunty said.
“But I wasn’t going real fast.
“It’s just an unfortunate footy injury.”
Delahunty made a successful return from a broken hand in his first season as Southern Mallee coach in 2023 after playing in a flag for Minyip-Murtoa and winning the Toohey Medal the previous season.
Thunder will make up to seven changes for the clash against Ararat with Bradley and Jarrod Stokes and Jackson Fisher also among those missing.
Thunder has bounced back strongly from a first-round loss to Stawell to rise to third place on the ladder with a match in hand on ladder leaders Ararat and second-placed Minyip-Murtoa.
Ararat co-coach and reigning Toohey Medal winner Tom Williamson is in ominous early season form with 21 goals from three matches including a bag of 10 on Good Friday against arch rival Stawell.
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