Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury faces a short turnaround to take on Adelaide in a Sunday blockbuster.
Plus the Dogs and the Dockers are hoping to welcome back stars for their respective matches, while the news gets worse for West Coast.
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‘Genuine concerns’ mounting for Blues | 01:39
Former COLLINGWOOD captain Scott Pendlebury remains in the frame for Sunday’s clash with Adelaide despite suffering a poke to the eye on Anzac Day.
Pendlebury suffered the injury in the second half and did not return to the field, while the Herald Sun reports he suffered “blurred vision after the incident and was in considerable pain following the match.”
Nathan Murphy will be ready to return for the side if he gets through concussion protocols.
Young ruckman Aiden Begg is set to return from a back injury this week, but may need to find his form in the VFL despite the club’s ruck woes.
Collingwood subbed out fellow ruck Nathan Kreuger in the second half of the side’s Anzac Day win.
ADELAIDE forward Shane McAdam suffered a quad injury in the SANFL, ruling him out of Sunday’s game against Collingwood.
McAdam’s recovery time frame will be determined next week, but he is one of just two players on the Crows’ injury list.
The other, Hugh Bond, is expected to resume running next week in his recovery from a knee fracture.
Bucks fires up over sling tackle debate | 10:29
WESTERN BULLDOGS midfielder Bailey Smith is in the frame to return from a calf concern ahead of Round 7’s matchup against Hawthorn.
The Dogs travelled directly from Adelaide to Perth following Gather Round, with Smith remaining in Melbourne as he dealt with a calf injury.
Smith’s return would be timely for the Dogs, who will be without contested beast Tom Liberatore due to concussion.
Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli was hopeful Smith would be right to return on Sunday.
“Missing Tom with a concussion is a downer but to bring someone in who is going to be really physical and really want to impose himself on the game pretty quickly is a big positive,” Bontempelli said.
“He was moving pretty well today so he‘ll definitely be right in the frame if things all go well.”
Bontempelli added he remained hopeful of Liberatore returning for next week’s clash with Greater Western Sydney in Canberra.
“At this stage I‘ve seen him do a few things (at training) and I think that means he’s progressing quite well,” Bontempelli said.
“It takes time to fully assess and get over the symptoms but from what I can tell from speaking to him so far, it‘s in a pretty good space.
“We‘ll let it play out as the days unfold but hopefully get him back as soon as (possible).”
Tempers flare after clutch De Goey goal | 00:49
Gun HAWTHORN forward Mitch Lewis is “99 per cent” likely to face the Western Bulldogs, while Eagles captain Luke Shuey has suffered another injury setback.
The Hawks think the 24-year-old Lewis, who booted 37 goals in 15 games last year, has had enough time on the training track to slot straight back into the AFL side despite a long lay-off due to a pre-season ACL sprain, followed by a setback to his other knee.
Hawthorn high performance manager Peter Burge said the sharpshooter has “ticked every box” in his comeback.
“He had a full week of training last week, he gets another full week this week and he’ll be available to play a full game of footy,” Burge said.
“I’m 99 per cent confident that the coaches will pick him in the AFL – so it’s all very positive, he’s ready to play football.
“He’s been really strong on the track – he did a game-length session on Sunday while we were playing in Tassie.
“We’ve replicated game loads in terms of all the running metrics, he’s been doing full contact for the last two weeks.”
Young Hawks forward Jai Serong is about three weeks away from returning after being diagnosed with pericarditis last month, while ruckman Max Lynch will be carefully managed after he suffered the ninth concussion of his career against the Crows.
FREMANTLE will make at least one change to its AFL side after Michael Frederick suffered an adductor injury in the loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
Both Heath Chapman and Sam Switkowski are in the frame to return from calf injuries against the Lions at The Gabba, while there is plenty of intrigue surrounding former captain Nat Fyfe.
Fyfe trained on the weekend and is in the frame for selection, but his foot injury is assessed on a day-to-day basis given it can flare up without notice.
BRISBANE LIONS tall Darcy Gardiner is ready to return from an adductor complaint, but will play in the seconds as he looks to break back into the side.
Deven Robertson continued his push for a senior recall with 29 disposals, seven tackles and a goal along with Rhys Mathieson’s 32 disposals and eight clearances.
Tom Fullerton and Noah Answerth also impressed, but will find it difficult to break into a senior side that has won three consecutive matches.
The MCG falls silent for Last Post | 05:03
WEST COAST’S debilitating run of injuries is showing no signs of slowing down, with captain Luke Shuey ruled out for the next month due to dual injury concerns.
The 32-year-old was subbed out of the Eagles’ loss to Port Adelaide with an ankle injury after playing on from a first quarter incident until the third term, but also has another hamstring issue.
West Coast head of health Mark Finucane said the Eagles would take a “cautious approach” with Shuey due to his history of soft tissue injuries.
“After some treatment (Shuey’s ankle) was retaped – he went back out but just felt like he couldn’t function to the level required, so he was subbed out,” Finucane said.
“After the game he cooled down and unfortunately he’s aware of some hamstring tightness as well.”
He said there was bone bruising and ligament damage.
Shannon Hurn is firming to play against Carlton on Saturday night, while promising youngsters Campbell Chesser, Elijah Hewett and Noah Long are all listed as two to three weeks away.
CARLTON is hopeful defensive playmaker Adam Saad will be ready to return from a hamstring concern this week.
Saad missed the Round 6 loss to St Kilda and was desperately missed, while the club will have to make a forced change due to Jesse Motlop’s suspension for a dangerous tackle.
Matt Cottrell is set to return via the VFL as he makes his way back from a foot injury.
Crucial SWANS talls Lance Franklin and defender Tom McCartin stand a chance of playing in the Sydney derby, but there remains no timeline for Paddy McCartin’s return.
Sydney co-captain Callum Mills says close friend McCartin’s full recovery from his 10th career concussion is the only priority for him and the Swans before any plans are made regarding his future.
The 27-year-old was helped from the field early in the Swans’ round 4 loss to Port Adelaide after he was left dazed in distressing scenes following a collision with an opponent.
Mills said the key defender was in good spirits around the club as the Swans prepare to take on their arch rivals GWS.
“Paddy’s good; I think the message has been pretty consistent. We just want Paddy to get back to full health before making an assessment or moving forward,” he said.
“Paddy’s one of my good mates, so my care goes out to Paddy. His health is the main priority at this moment. We’re all behind him.”
The Swans skipper said Franklin and Paddy’s brother, Tom McCartin, were still in contention to return from knee soreness and concussion respectively.
“They’re not ruled out; we’ll see how this week goes, but I obviously can’t say they’re definitely playing as well,” Mills said.
“Injuries are frustrating for everyone … (Franklin) just puts his head down and works really hard; you don’t have the career he’s had without working extremely hard and getting on with a couple of setbacks.
“He’s invested as ever and he’s really keen to get back out there.”
Mills said he also expected veteran ruckman Tom Hickey to “put his hand up” for selection after returning through the VFL last weekend.
Selecting Hickey would allow the Swans to use Peter Ladhams as a key forward and push swingman Aaron Francis back into defence, where they badly lacked height and strength in their 93-point humiliation at the hands of Geelong in the grand final rematch.
An inability to execute their “system” was more responsible for the heavy defeat than simply key names missing, Mills said.
“We’ve got a really good system and when we play to it, we play really well and when we stray away from it, that’s where we go wrong,” he said.
“Our contest wasn’t up to standard and that’s something as players we hold ourselves accountable to, and we’ll be looking forward to getting out this weekend and trying to change that.”
GEELONG is hoping to welcome back premiership defender Jed Bews from concussion against Essendon, with the 29-year-old having missed two games.
RICHMOND is hopeful of regaining Jack Graham for the Round 7 game against Gold Coast.
Graham is set to return from a hamstring injury, while gun defender Nathan Broad has now served his four-match suspension.
Maurice Rioli jnr suffered a hamstring injury late in the loss to Melbourne.
