Melbourne is facing three potential mega-boosts for the ANZAC Eve blockbuster while fellow contender Brisbane has reasons to smile.
But the news isn’t as good for Sydney or Collingwood.
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MELBOURNE could receive a huge triple boost with Max Gawn, Jake Lever and Ben Brown all close to becoming available for Monday night against the Tigers.
Skipper Gawn has been unavailable since a knee injury suffered in the Round 2 loss to Brisbane, and was sorely missed in the Demons’ shock loss to Essendon last Saturday as Sam Draper and Andrew Phillips ran amok.
But after completing a full training session in recent days Gawn’s gun teammate Christian Petracca believes he, Lever (ankle) and Brown (late out with back soreness) could be in the mix for Round 6.
“I think he did a full training session the other day, hopefully a full training session this week and can hopefully be available for this week,” Petracca said on SEN Breakfast.
“Him and Jake Lever and Ben Brown as well. I think if they get through training this week (they’ll play), which is good.”
Michael Hibberd is also in the mix to return while Charlie Spargo will miss this week due to concussion.
Meanwhile Damien Hardwick may have at least one more magnet to play with at RICHMOND this week with Jayden Short (calf) likely to return for the ANZAC Eve clash.
If the 27-year-old gets through training Short will return for his first game since Round 3.
The Tigers have listed Jack Graham (hamstring) and Ivan Soldo (foot)’s return timeframes as short-term, with Josh Gibcus (hamstring) confusingly a short-medium term prospect, while Toby Nankervis (ankle) and Tom Lynch (foot) are a long way off yet.
Caro & Hutchy clash over ‘poor’ joke | 02:19
SYDNEY’s big-man crisis looks unlikely to end before Saturday night’s Grand Final rematch with the Cats, with coach John Longmire potentially not regaining any of his key men.
Paddy and Tom McCartin both missed the win over Richmond through concussion while Lance Franklin (knee) and Dane Rampe (neck) were also forced omissions.
Young forward Joel Amartey then suffered tendon damage to his troublesome hamstring during the win over the Tigers, which will see him miss eight to 10 weeks.
The rush of injuries saw Will Gould finally make his AFL debut even though he hadn’t gotten through training the prior weekend.
But there’ll be no quick fix for the Swans – which is particularly worrying with Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron on the docket this weekend.
“Tommy McCartin definitely won’t play this week and Rampe and Franklin are uncertain at the moment, maybe not going to play,” Longmire said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“So we may not get anyone back this week. It’s just a matter of getting on with it.”
Ruckman Tom Hickey (calf) may return via the VFL.
Swans turn to youth due to injury crisis | 00:49
Opponents GEELONG will be without All-Australian forward Tyson Stengle and premiership ruckman Rhys Stanley after they both suffered medium-term injuries in the win over West Coast.
Both men suffered injuries in tackles, Stengle fracturing his wrist and Stanley fracturing his eye socket, requiring surgery which will see them each miss around five to six weeks.
In better news for the Cats Gary Rohan will be available to return from suspension, likely filling the forward void left by Stengle, while Jon Ceglar is ready to replace Stanley after a successful outing in the VFL last weekend.
Jed Bews could return if he successfully passes through the concussion protocols in time for the match, while Tanner Bruhn has spent two weeks out of the senior side and may be considered for more of a primary midfield role.
Stengle out indefinitely after fracture | 00:33
Former FREMANTLE captain Nat Fyfe has stepped up his training loads as he looks to return from a plantar fascia injury, but the club will take no risks with the dual Brownlow medallist.
Sam Switkowski will miss at least two games due to a calf injury, which he suffered in the second quarter of Fremantle’s Round 5 win over Gold Coast.
Heath Chapman remains at least another week away from an AFL return as he deals with a calf issue. Nathan O’Driscoll is available after recovering from illness, while defender Joel Hamling and ruckman Liam Reidy are listed as tests.
The WESTERN BULLDOGS will be without Bailey Smith for at least one more match, with the star midfielder not travelling to Adelaide or Perth with the side as he deals with a calf issue.
Josh Bruce will be out indefinitely after a significant rib injury he suffered in Round 5, but defensive reinforcements should arrive via Hayden Crozier and Alex Keath.
Crozier is set to be available after dealing with a back injury, while Keath has to tick any remaining boxes after being concussed in Round 4.
Laitham Vandermeer has been listed as a test.
ESSENDON will be without captain Zach Merrett while COLLINGWOOD lost midfielder Taylor Adams after both failed in their Tribunal appeals of one-match dangerous tackle bans.
The Magpies will also lose Nathan Murphy (concussion) and likely Dan McStay (finger tendon) though Jordan De Goey would be expected to return after missing the win over St Kilda through illness.
McStay tight lipped on finger injury | 01:42
Tim Membrey got through his VFL return unscathed on Sunday, recording seven disposals in difficult conditions, and looms as a timely replacement for Anthony Caminiti at ST KILDA.
Caminiti was suspended by the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night as expected, with Membrey hoping to make his season debut after pre-season knee surgery.
Their opponents on Sunday CARLTON will be hoping both Adam Saad and Mitch McGovern can return from soft tissue issues.
Saad couldn’t finish the loss to Adelaide, going off the ground with a tight hamstring, while McGovern was a very late withdrawal (replaced by Lachie Plowman) due to calf tightness in the warm-up.
“(Saad has) hamstring tightness and that’s all it is,” Blues coach Michael Voss said post-game.
“We just weren’t prepared to take that risk. He felt that it was starting to tighten up a bit too much, there was no incident. We’ll assess it as we always do across the next couple of days but, we hope that’s all it is.”
“(McGovern) had some soreness there, some residual soreness across the week. He trained during the week so we didn’t think there was any problem. But, he did pull up a little bit short in warm up so we did have to make that change. We just weren’t going to take that risk with being able to put him back out there.”
Post round 5 Premiership window! | 01:16
PORT ADELAIDE captain Tom Jonas is in line for a return against West Coast after he missed the win over the Western Bulldogs to manage an ankle injury.
Key forward Charlie Dixon jarred his right knee in a ruck contest against the Dogs, but played out the game and will be assessed throughout the week.
Orazio Fantasia (quad) is the only other player on the club’s injury list, and is still likely a month away from returning.
WEST COAST barely has anyone to call up given the extent of its injury woes, but will have to after injuries to both Elliot Yeo and Elijah Hewett during Sunday’s loss to Geelong.
Yeo is now managing a groin concern, while Hewett suffered an ankle injury in the opening minutes of the match and was ruled out of its remainder.
Club captain Luke Shuey is pushing to return from a hamstring injury, while young ruckman Callum Jamieson is also in the frame after an ankle injury.
Lyon amused by Ginnivan snub | 00:45
BRISBANE doesn’t exactly need to make any changes after a dominant performance against North Melbourne but is likely to be bolstered at both ends.
Jack Gunston, who was managed for Gather Round, would appear likely to regain his spot while Darcy Gardiner has overcome an ongoing Achilles injury and been declared available at AFL level, following a successful VFL return.
Shadeau Brain (shoulder) and Blake Coleman (shoulder) are both tests.
The GIANTS will need to bring in a replacement for Tom Green after the star midfielder accepted a one-match ban for a dangerous tackle.
Toby Bedford (hamstring) should be ready to return, but the club plans for him to play in the VFL first. Harry Perryman (hamstring) is likely to return having not played since Round 1 while Xavier O’Halloran returned via the VFL last week.
Giants edge Hawks in nail biter | 02:30
HAWTHORN is likely to name veteran Chad Wingard despite his gruesome tongue injury suffered against the Giants.
The forward required surgery after splitting his tongue but the procedure went smoothly.
“He’s obviously a little bit sore and there will be a little bit of recovery required after going under anaesthetic, but we’ll get him going tomorrow and he’ll aim to fully train this week,” Hawks high performance manager Peter Burge said.
“We’ll then assess his availability, but I would be pretty confident that he’ll be playing football this weekend.”
Luke Breust appears likely to retain his spot despite suffering a corked glute while Will Day remains a week away due to his dangerous tackle ban.
Jack Scrimshaw (toe) should be available at AFL level if he trains well through the week while Mitch Lewis is expected to return in Round 7.
ADELAIDE is close to having a fully fit list with Josh Worrell recovering from a hamstring injury and in line to play his first game of the season.
Only draftee Hugh Bond (knee fracture, return TBC) is sidelined.
Dew feeling pressure after poor start | 03:44
GOLD COAST is hopeful of regaining captain Jarrod Witts in a big boost to their ruck department.
The veteran has missed the last two games but the club expects him to return to training later this week and in the process push for an AFL return.
Jed Anderson (hamstring) has been declared available while Sam Flanders (MCL) is three weeks away.
At NORTH MELBOURNE, first-year star Harry Sheezel is expected to be fine despite being spotted with a heavily strapped thumb at training.
But the news isn’t as good for Jy Simpkin with the gun midfielder to miss at least a week, potentially 2-3, with a hand injury.
The Kangaroos’ other 2022 top-five pick George Wardlaw is unlikely to debut at AFL level in Round 6 while Aaron Hall, who had an enormous day out in the VFL last weekend, is pushing for a senior spot.
