AFL Team Whispers: All the latest selection news and updates ahead of Round 10, 2023

North Melbourne is set to make mass forced changes, which will likely open the door for a top-five pick to debut and a key forward to return.

Plus Geelong could regain a trio to face Fremantle, which is weighing up whether to name Nat Fyfe as the sub again.

Get all the latest Round 10 selection news and updates in AFL Team Whispers!

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NORTH MELBOURNE could make up to six changes for Saturday’s clash against Sydney, courtesy of injuries and a potential suspension.

But top-five pick George Wardlaw is “every chance” to make his debut, according to co-captain Jy Simpkin.

Luke Davies-Uniacke suffered a hamstring injury during the Roos’ 70-point loss to Port Adelaide, with the star midfielder expected to miss three to five weeks.

Adding to the side’s woes, Darcy Tucker also suffered a hamstring injury. He’s listed as a test for this week, but is more likely to miss.
Flynn Perez and Jack Mahony were ruled out of the match with concussion and a shoulder injury respectively. Perez is unavailable for selection this week, while Mahony has been ruled out for the season as he ponders surgery options.

As reported first by foxfooty.com.au, Cameron Zurhaar suffered facial swelling as a result of a collision and was sent for scans after the match, which revealed a depression of one of the bones in his face. He’ll miss at least one week.

And defender Aidan Corr will be sidelined after he accepted a one-game ban for striking Port Adelaide’s Ollie Lord.

Simpkin said there was “every chance” Wardlaw, the club’s second pick in last year’s draft, could finally get his AFL debut to help cover the player losses and was keen to see him finally in action at the top level.

“When the ball is there to be won, the intensity and effort, he brings that,” Simpkin said.

“He’s a young guy, hopefully playing his first game soon, you can’t expect too much from him.

“But I’m excited to see what he could do.”

Having returned to the club’s VFL program, Tarryn Thomas will take a huge step back towards an AFL return for the battling Kangaroos after being allowed to train with the main group under coach Alastair Clarkson.

Despite a spate of injuries at the club, Simpkin said the likes of draftee Wardlaw could be ahead of Thomas, who has played three VFL games, for an immediate AFL return.

Elsewhere, Ben Cunnington should almost certainly return after responding to his axing with 23 touches in the VFL, while Callum Coleman-Jones will be hard to ignore after his dominant nine-goal performance in the same game.

The likes of Aaron Hall, Daniel Howe (both 28 touches), Will Phillips and Charlie Lazzaro (both 19 disposals) also impressed in the VFL and will come under consideration for a senior call-up.

SYDNEY coach Justin Longmuir will have to get creative with his forward structure for Saturday’s clash against North Melbourne after another key forward suffered an injury.

Young gun Logan McDonald, who’s kicked 16.5 this year, is set to miss the next eight weeks due to a significant medial ankle sprain.

With Joel Amartey (hamstring) still several weeks away and Sam Reid (hamstring) already ruled out for the season, the Swans could spin the magnets with their key-position players, or go into the clash with the Kangaroos with a smaller forward line.

The Swans will also be without co-captain Callum Mills, who’ll miss up to six weeks with a calf strain.

Peter Ladhams should return if deemed fit to play, otherwise the Swans could hand a debut to Lachlan McAndrew, who’s been on the cusp of senior selection for weeks.

Angus Sheldrick (34 touches, one goal) put his hand up for a recall with a strong VFL performance, as did Dylan Stephens (26 disposals).

GEELONG will lose a Henry brother but regain the other for its clash against Fremantle this weekend.

Ollie Henry is set to miss the next two games after rupturing his testicle in a collision late in Friday night’s loss to Richmond.

Older brother Jack Henry, meanwhile, is a chance to come into the side, with the utility fit to play at any level after returning from a broken foot.

The Cats could opt for premiership player Henry to return via the VFL as he hasn’t played at any level since hurting his foot in Geelong’s pre-season match against Hawthorn in February.

Geelong could also be boosted by the return of All-Australian forward Tyson Stengle, who’ll push his case at training on Wednesday after recovering from a broken arm.

Brad Close will come straight back into the side after serving his one-week suspension, but defender Sam De Koning has been ruled out for another week after undergoing facial surgery earlier this month.

WALYALUP (FREMANTLE) superstar Nat Fyfe could start as his team’s sub for a third straight week, but the dual Brownlow Medallist will have a say in what role he plays against Geelong.

Since returning from plantar fasciitis, Fyfe has started as the sub in the Dockers’ most recent wins over Hawthorn and Sydney and had an impact.

Asked if Fyfe would be in the starting 22 against Geelong, Dockers coach Justin Longmuir told 7 News Perth: “We’ll weigh that up (on Wednesday).

“I’ll have a good chat to him post-training and see how confident he is in his foot and his performance and we’ll make a call from there.

“We feel like this progression is going to be fine, whether it’s one more week as a sub or a full game this week. We feel like these are the steps he needs to take to play a full game of AFL footy.

“He won’t be going back to the WAFL.”

The Dockers’ WAFL affiliate Peel Thunder had a massive 89-point win over West Coast to potentially give Justin Longmuir something to think about, with Liam Henry (25 touches, 11 tackles, seven marks, one goal) and Sam Sturt (2.2 from 24 disposals, eight marks) enjoying big days out.

NARRM (MELBOURNE) star Christian Petracca is expecting to be fit to take on Port Adelaide in Friday night’s blockbuster clash against Port Adelaide.

Petracca trained fully on Tuesday — a few days after he rolled his ankle in the dying stages of his club’s big win over Hawthorn.

The Norm Smith Medallist said he should be fine to play off the six-day break despite the scare late on Saturday.

“I don’t need to ‘handle’ anything because I’m fine,” Petracca told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Tuesday night.

“It’s funny everyone goes back to uni and tries to diagnose my injury, which is pretty funny.

“But it’s all good. As long as I get the word from the docs and physios and what they see and how they diagnose it, the rest is up to me. I trained really well, which I was really happy with, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Meanwhile, coach Simon Goodwin is mulling over whether to re-call Ben Brown or Tom McDonald to replace Harrison Petty, who will miss four to six weeks after spraining a ligament in his mid-foot.

Petty’s injury opens the door for one of Narrm’s out-of-favour veterans, with Brown (three games, nine goals) and McDonald (four games, five goals) both battling injury and form concerns in the opening months of the season.

Casey Demons had a bye in the VFL last weekend, but Goodwin said he had no issue selecting one of the pair or the smaller Jake Melksham, given they would be fresh heading into the Port Adelaide clash.

“We’ve got a bank of evidence in the last month about how guys are tracking; there’s certainly some form, even though there was no game last week,” Goodwin said.

“Certainly if a player comes in they will be fresh.

“He’s a really important player for us, Harrison. He’s going to be out for four to six weeks with a mid-foot sprain, which we’re going to be cautious with … it presents opportunity for another forward to come in and play well.”

Rebounding defender Christian Salem was ready to play at either level this week after a month of full training, Goodwin said.

YARTAPUULTI (PORT ADELAIDE) will be without Todd Marshall (concussion) for its clash against the Demons.

But if Charlie Dixon has recovered from his quad strain, he’ll come straight back in.

Darcy Byrne-Jones was a late out against North, but has recovered well and will be available for Friday’s game.

HAWTHORN defender Changkuoth Jiath will miss the club’s clash with 17th-placed West Coast due to a calf strain.

The 23-year-old has been ruled out of Sunday’s clash after suffering an injury late in his side’s loss to Melbourne. He’s a chance to play the week after, but the club was yet to confirm a timeline for his return.

“He had some scans and there was a bit of bleeding, so it was diagnosed as a calf strain,” Hawthorn high performance manager Peter Burge said.

“We will be able to be more exact with that timeline, more likely next week, once he’s up and moving again.”

Burge said young midfielder Josh Ward would miss another week with his foot complaint.

Max Lynch (concussion) remain unavailable for selection, but fellow ruck Ned Reeves is on track to return for the Hawks after missing the loss to Melbourne.

WEST COAST is set to have a host of young players available for selection ahead of Sunday’s match against Hawthorn.

Noah Long (hamstring), Jack Williams (spleen) and Campbell Chesser (knee) are all available to be picked, while defender Rhett Bazzo (concussion) and midfielder Elijah Hewett (ankle) are listed as tests on the club’s injury list.

Chesser and Long are the most likely to come into the AFL side – Chesser had 16 disposals in the WAFL on managed minutes – while Bazzo could play as a key forward-ruck if needed.

The Eagles will be without veteran Jack Darling after he fractured his forearm against the Suns, but coach Adam Simpson said he was confident Jamaine Jones would be fit to play after being cleared of a facial fracture.

GOLD COAST has received good news on the injury front, with important forward Ben Ainsworth cleared to return after missing two weeks with a corked quad.

Half-back Ben Long will also return for the Q-Clash against the Brisbane Lions after missing the win over the Eagles with back soreness.

The Suns are hopeful of regaining pressure forward Nick Holman, who has missed the last two weeks with a toe injury. Holman will need to undergo a test to prove his fitness.

BRISBANE trained on Tuesday, with Charlie Cameron, Dayne Zorko, Jack Gunston and Ryan Lester reportedly all on light duties.

Zorko said his hamstring felt good after his comeback from injury in the Lions’ 42-point weekend win over Essendon at the Gabba.

“I was a little bit nervous heading into the game as expected, but those nerves were quickly put to bed about 15 minutes in, and I knew I’d be sweet,” he told SENQ.

The WESTERN BULLDOGS are set to be without both Adam Treloar and Josh Bruce again for this weekend’s highly-anticipated clash against Adelaide.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said Treloar was “at least another week or two” away from returning from a hamstring injury he suffered against the Giants in Round 8.

Meanwhile, Bruce’s availability for selection will depend on how he pulls up after training.

Beveridge on Tuesday suggested Bruce was more unlikely to return after suffering a rib injury earlier in the season.

ADELAIDE will make a key defensive switch for its clash against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.

Backman Tom Doedee has been ruled out of the match after he had delayed concussion symptoms following the Crows’ statement win over St Kilda.

“Tom reported some symptoms after the game on the weekend and we put him through a concussion test which he didn’t pass,” Crows high performance manager Darren Burgess said.

“So as a result of that he won’t play this week against the Bulldogs and we will monitor him through those protocols.”

Doedee has entered concussion protocols — consequently ruling him out of the Dogs match-up — but the Crows will regain in-form defender Nick Murray, who’ll be out of concussion protocols before Saturday’s game after he missed last week’s clash.

The Crows are also confident star midfielder Rory Laird will play, despite being subbed out against the Saints after being crunched in a tackle.

ST KILDA is set to welcome back star spearhead Max King to face the Giants.

Barring any mishaps this week, King will play his first game of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in December.

King could be joined in the side by small forward Jade Gresham, who’s likely to return after he was sidelined for a week with a knee injury. Jimmy Webster (28) and Jack Billings (24) will again be strongly considered after good VFL outings.

The Saints, though, will be without goalkicker Tim Membrey, who was concussed during Sunday’s surprise thumping by Adelaide, while skipper Jack Steele is in doubt due to a knee medial ligament strain.

Marcus Windhager put his hand up for an AFL return after a monster VFL outing for the Zebras, booting 3.2 from 36 disposals, 11 inside 50s, nine clearances and six tackles.

GIANTS skipper Toby Greene is set to be a welcome addition for his club’s clash against the Saints after missing the past two games due to an ankle injury.

Greene could come in for Toby Bedford, who’s been goalless in past two games, or one of the recent inclusions in Ryan Angwin or Cameron Fleeton.

First-round draftee Harry Rowston is a massive chance to come back into the side after a monster VFL game that saw him kick one goal from 33 disposals, a whopping 19 clearances and eight inside 50s.

The Giants could also make a change to their key forward mix. Aaron Cadman played a full AFL game against the Pies but finished goalless for the second straight week. In the VFL, Wade Derksen kicked five goals to push his case for a debut while Jake Riccardi booted two majors.

COLLINGWOOD will have the choice of re-calling first-choice ruckman Darcy Cameron, who’s been sidelined since Round 4 with a knee issue, to face Carlton on Sunday.

But coach Craig McRae stopped short of declaring Cameron would come straight back into the senior side, telling reporters “we’ll have to weigh up what that looks like” considering the form of Mason Cox and support from Ash Johnson.

If they want to bring Cameron straight in without a run in the VFL, the Pies could restructure, drop a smaller type like Jack Ginnivan or Oleg Markov – which would be stiff because they were both impressive against the Giants – and go taller against the Blues. Or they could bring Cameron in for Johnson, although McRae was complementary in his assessment of Johnson’s game on Sunday. Good conundrum to have.

Josh Carmichael had a monster 28-disposal, four-goal showing in the VFL, but it’s hard to see him getting a look into this surging Pies side — outside of starting as the sub.

CARLTON midfielder Ed Curnow started as the sub against the Bulldogs, but the Blues would have to consider moving him into the starting 22 to help them take on the Magpies’ midfield.

Alex Cincotta might be the most vulnerable of losing his starting spot after a nine-disposal outing on Saturday night.

The Blues should have Tom De Koning and Jack Martin available for selection, but the latter might have another game in the VFL to help him build match conditioning, while De Koning is also unlikely to be brought straight back into the AFL side.

RICHMOND has ruled out midfielder Jacob Hopper for its clash with Essendon and the “medium term” after suffering a calf strain.

But there’s some good news for the Tigers, with co-captain Toby Nankervis in with a chance of returning this Saturday from an ankle injury.

Key defender Tylar Young could also make his way back in time for Saturday night’s Dreamtime, after recovering from a leg injury.

Fleet-footed half back Daniel Rioli is set to play after an ankle injury required some mid-match repairs against the Tigers.

Tyler Sonsie (20 disposals in the VFL) and Noah Cumberland (three goals) could also come into the frame, while Judson Clarke would be a strong chance to be elevated into the starting 22 after coming on as the sub against Geelong.

ESSENDON duo Jordan Ridley and Jake Kelly (both concussions) will both come into contention to return against Richmond.