Kangas Injury Update

North Melbourne have revealed the extent of their injury problems after a dramatic weekend fixture against St Kilda saw the Kangas down to 17 fit men late in the contest.

There were problems for Adam Simpson (calf), Daniel Pratt (knee), Daniel Wells (hip), Lindsay Thomas (groin), Ben Warren (cheekbone), Sam Power (concussion) and Sam Wright (knee), along with Jack Ziebell being a late withdrawal with gastro.

But North Melbourne football operations manager Donald McDonald revealed to the media the extent of the problems today.

McDonald admitted the big names (Simpson, Pratt and Wells) should be okay for next weekend's match at AAMI against the Crows.

"Simmo pulled up alright today and he'll just take it easier during the week but he'll be right to train. We'll have our main training session later in the week because we play Sunday, and the longer week will suit Simmo. Pratty should be all right too," McDonald said.

"Wellsy has had this for a few weeks and it got a bit sore. He's pulled up all right. He's still a bit sore this morning but nothing out of the unusual. He'll be right to train later in the week and should be right to play," McDonald added.

McDonald though, revealed less positive news about youngster Warren who will miss 3-4 matches after fracturing his cheekbone.

"He's had the surgery and that went all right, but the doctors were hopeful the injury wasn't as bad as that and they had to do a little more work than they thought they would.

"Sometimes on the severe end it can be four to six, so this is about what we hoped it would be."

Another Kangas youngster, Sam Wright, will be unavailable for next week at least, with a slight kneecap problem.

"He'll be one to two weeks. It's not as bad as what we first thought. He'll definitely miss this week and then he'll have the bye before he's a chance to play the week after that," McDonald said.

McDonald didn't reveal more on Thomas and Power, but it seems likely the pair will be okay for next weekend, while teenager Ziebell has recovered from gastro and should be available for the trip to South Australia.

There was more injury news for the Kangas, with McDonald revealed injury-troubled youngster Robbie Tarrant would miss the rest of the season with a shoulder reconstruction needed.

McDonald said, "He just fell on the shoulder out at Casey Fields (in the VFL reserves), but until then he had been playing really well."

On the plus side, McDonald did add that promising 21-year-old early-season DT favourite Liam Anthony is close to his debut after recovering from injury.

"Liam Anthony is another. He would have played round one but had a stress fracture on the eve of the season, but he had his second game back (in the reserves) and his form was really good.

"He'll come under consideration and if he doesn't get a game this week, he'll be under consideration for the week after the bye.

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Goodwin Out For Two Weeks

Adelaide Crows skipper and DreamTeam favourite Simon Goodwin is expected to be out of action for at least two weeks due to a knee injury.

The 32-year-old veteran injured his knee in the weekend's victory over Essendon and will visit a specialist and have scans on his knee in the next 24 hours to ascertain the extent of the injury.

Nevertheless, the Crows claim Goodwin's injury isn't as bad as first feared but it seems definite he will not be available for the club's next match against North Melbourne on Sunday.

The Crows next fixture after the split round isn't until June 27 when they'll host Sydney, so Adelaide fans (and many DT pundits) will be hopeful the break will give Goodwin the time needed to recover.

Goodwin, a DT midfielder and forward, only posted a score on 47 on the weekend having suffered the injury, so his price has dropped over $10k to an affordable $336k and he could be worth a look for DT coaches when he returns.

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MRP Update: King Out For 4

St Kilda ruckman Steven King has been offered a four-week ban by the AFL match review panel for his charge of rough conduct on Kangaroo Sam Power from the weekend.

King will cop the four-week suspension if he enters an early plea and it probably would be wise to do so. It would also be wise if you are DT coach with him in your team, to trade him out now.

Don't trade in Essendon bigman Patrick Ryder though, as the Bomber has been offered a one-week suspension for rough conduct on Adelaide youngster Patrick Dangerfield.

Sydney forward Barry Hall will be free to play in Round 12, with the match review panel taking no further action despite the big Swan losing the plot on the weekend against the Hawks.

Port Adelaide's Nick Lower has been charged for striking Docker Paul Hasleby, but the Power man won't serve a suspension as the offence isn't worth over 100 points. Fellow Port man Toby Thurstans has been fined for a collision with an umpire.

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Drummond To Miss One

Brisbane Lions defender Josh Drummond will miss one match due to a calf strain he suffered in the weekend's loss to Carlton.

The reasonably popular DT backman has picked up a minor calf problem but will still miss next weekend's game against Hawthorn.

Brisbane coach Michael Voss claimed the injury was relatively minor suggesting Drummond will definitely be back after the split round.

Drummond posted a DT score of 0 on the weekend and as a result his price stays the same (at $327k), meaning any DT coaches hoping to pick up the sweeping defender on the cheap will miss out.

Voss also revealed fellow injured defenders Daniel Merrett and Joel Patfull wouldn't be risked this weekend either and will probably come back after the split round.

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Port's DT Star Out For A Month, At Least

Port Adelaide midfielder Travis Boak could be out for between 4-8 weeks after he injured the medial ligament in his left knee on the weekend.

Boak, who is Port's second top DreamTeam scorer this season, will undergo scans on the problem but the Power's medical staff are confident it won't be a worst-case eight-week injury.

Port's general manager of football operations Peter Rohde said, "Hopefully, he'll be out for just a month."

Good news for Port is forward Daniel Motlop could be back this weekend after an ankle injury and at $278k he could be worth a punt for a desperate DT coach, although the former Kanga is rather inconsistent.

Youngster Hamish Hartlett, who over 17,000 DT coaches have, was a late withdrawal on the weekend against Fremantle and he'll be unavailable again for Round 12 with hamstring tendonitis.

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Rioli Out For A Few

Hawthorn coach Alistair Clarkson claims Cyril Rioli will be out for a couple of weeks after tearing his hamstring against the Swans on the weekend.

Rioli, a 2008 DreamTeam must-have, suffered the hamstring injury in the first-term against Sydney and didn't return to the field.

Clarkson told the media after the game, "I dare say he will certainly miss next week’s game and how much longer he misses will be determined by the severity of the injury.

“But it didn’t look good in terms of being able to come back from the ground. He’ll certainly miss a couple I reckon.

“We’ll assess him throughout the course of the week. The docs have already spoken to him and he’ll get scanned tomorrow and see where he goes from there.”

Clarkson also revealed late withdrawals Campbell Brown and Tom Murphy had missed the match due to knee and illness problems respectively.

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DT Round 11 Injury & Suspension News

Round 11 had finished up today, so I thought I'd put together a list of players who I'll be searching for info about after injuries scares, problem, worries etc. over the weekend.

Western Bulldogs v Richmond; Robert Murphy was a late withdrawal for the Bulldogs because of a hamstring problem.

North Melbourne v St Kilda; Jack Ziebell (gastro) was a late withdrawal for the Kangas, while there were also injuries to Ben Warren (cheekbone), Lindsay Thomas (groin soreness), Sam Power (concussion) and Sam Wright (knee). For the Saints, Steven King is off for a date with the tribunal for his hit on Power.

Brisbane v Carlton; Josh Drummond went off early with a calf injury for the Lions.

Port Adelaide v Fremantle; Hamish Hartlett missed out for the Power because of hamstring tendonitis, while Travis Boak copped a nasty knee injury.

Essendon v Adelaide; Simon Goodwin picked up a knee injury for the Crows, while Patty Ryder could be set for a date with the tribunal after a run in with Patrick Dangerfield.

Hawthorn v Sydney; Despite winning, there wasn't much good news for the Hawks with defends Campbell Brown and Tom Murphy late withdrawals due to injury. Cyril Rioli picked up a hamstring injury in the match, while there was problems for Lance Franklin (cut head) and Brent Renouf (hamstring tightness). For the Swans, Craig Bolton twisted his knee late on, while Barry Hall could face suspension after losing the plot late.

West Coast v Geelong; Andrew Embley sustained an ankle injury for the Eagles.

Melbourne v Collingwood; Collingwood's Nathan Brown copped a knee injury here, while Demon Matthew Whelan took a heavy hit to the ribs.

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