Mitch Clark Available Next Round

Brisbane coach Michael Voss has claimed exciting youngster Mitch Clark should be available next round despite a groin problem in Sunday's win over Hawthorn.

Clark, an in-form $369k DT ruck/forward, spent plenty of the second-half of the victory in Tasmania on the bench after experiencing some problems with his groin.

But Voss claimed Clark was only suffering from tightness rather than a muscle tear and he was on the bench as the Lions didn't want to risk injury.

"They are like gold to us at the moment,'' Voss said. "So we didn't want to put him out there unless we absolutely had too, it was more out of precaution.''

The Lions don't play again until June 27 against Melbourne at the GABBA.

One Brisbane player who might not be available for that game is Troy Selwood after dislocating a shoulder in the Hawthorn victory.

The Herald Sun has claimed the $244k midfielder will miss about a month due to the injury, but Voss downplayed such suggestions.

"Troy Selwood's popped his shoulder," Voss said. "Obviously we'll assess the damage. Hopefully he's right in a couple weeks. Sometimes they can just pop out and then come back in and they're OK."

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Ratten: Thornton & Judd Okay

Carlton coach Brett Ratten has explained injuries to Blues pair Chris Judd and Bret Thornton after Friday night's loss to St Kilda.

Ratten confirmed $385k midfielder Judd, who is owned by over 100,000 DT coaches, had broken his nose in the match but didn't elaborate on whether the injury would affect his availability for Round 13.

"He got a broken nose and it just kept bleeding, so it took a bit to stop," Ratten said.

Nevertheless it is understood Judd underwent surgery to realign the nasal bones on Saturday.

Channel Nine's Dr Peter Larkins claimed Judd would be okay to play when he told the Sunday Footy Show, "Having had surgery, he'll have the bye weekend and be back playing."

Ratten did reveal backman Thornton had been a late withdrawal after tweaking a hamstring at training on Thursday, but expected the $322k defender to be okay for next round.

"Bret should be right for the Essendon game (Round 13). He just had a slight hamstring and we took the precautionary option, knowing that we had the break," Ratten said.

"If he did do it this week, he would've missed the Essendon game, so he'll be fine with that."

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DT Round 12 Injury & Suspension News

Basically this little section is a rolling update over the course of the weekend on injuries and potential suspensions so you can keep an eye on it all. So stay posted.

Adelaide v North Melbourne; Popular rookie Jack Ziebell's injury is the talking point. He was rushed to hospital late in the game and may have broken his leg. He was also reported earlier, but will get off. Kanga Lindsay Thomas pulled his hamstring late in the game, and so did Adelaide's Brent Reilly. As reported here yesterday, Richard Douglas was a late withdrawal with a virus, while Graham Johncock also dropped out with a mystery respiratory problem.

Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions; Popular DT youngster Mitch Clark is the big worry after straining his quad today. Also, Brisbane's Troy Selwood dislocated his shoulder on his comeback game and will be gone for a while.

Richmond v West Coast; No major concerns here, although Richmond bigman Will Thursfield copped a hit to the head and was a bit groggy but should be okay for next round.

Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide; The main news is in the 4th quarter Power forward Daniel Motlop re-injured the ankle which kept him out of action recently. Less significantly, Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis, who was rumoured to have swine flu this week, struggled a bit but got through the game.

Carlton v St Kilda; The main injury news centres around DT star Chris Judd who looks to have broken his nose. It's not clear yet if it's a major or minor fracture of the nose but Judd played on, despite plenty of blood, so maybe that suggests he'll be okay to go for Round 13. Also for Carlton, early-season DT fave Bret Thornton was a late withdrawal after suffering a hamstring injury at training on Thursday, while Brendan Fevola seemed to hurt his ankle in the second-half but played on. There were no such problems for the victorious Saints.

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Motlop Re-injures Ankle

Bad news for Port fans and the 22,000 DT coaches who own Daniel Motlop after Power coach Mark Williams confirmed the forward had re-injured his troublesome ankle.

The $278k forward, who was making his return from a two-match layoff in Saturday's clash against the Bulldogs, injured his ankle in the final quarter.

Williams admitted after the game that the problem was the same as last time. Port Adelaide also confirmed that they were quite concerned about the injury.

All this suggests an extended spell on the sidelines for Motlop.

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Petrenko Will Play

Early-season DreamTeam favourite Jared Petrenko will be a late replacement for the Adelaide Crows this weekend against North Melbourne and play his first game for four weeks.

Petrenko, a $139k defender, replaces $286k forward Richard Douglas, who has come down with a virus.

It was initially feared Douglas had swine flu, but he's been cleared of the illness.

Douglas's housemate and Crows teammate, $86k rookie midfielder Tony Armstrong, was an emergency for the clash but has also been ruled out after feeling unwell.

Petrenko, who over 40,000 DT coaches own, may prove to be a handy seventh defender with popular DT backmen Chad Cornes and Josh Drummond injured elsewhere.

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Johnstone Injured At Training

Brisbane Lions midfielder Travis Johnstone has been ruled out of Sunday's match with Hawthorn after straining his back at training on Thursday.

Johnstone, a $302k midfielder, has had an inconsistent 2009 with two 'plus-120' scores but seven 'below-65' scores. Nevertheless the ex-Demon is still owned by over 7,000 DT coaches.

The severity of the back strain hasn't been announced by the Lions but typically doctors recommend for injuries like these a few days rest, meaning Johnstone should be okay for Round 13.

Johnstone's Lions teammate Daniel Merrett has also been ruled out Sunday's clash in Tasmania.

Merrett, a $183k defender, had been named to make an early return to the Lions side this weekend after a stint on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

But the defender, who almost 10,000 DT coaches own, pulled up sore from Thursday's training session and has been replaced in the team by Jason Roe.

All this news about Brisbane's defensive woes could potentially be very good for DT coaches with Lance Franklin or Jarryd Roughead in their sides as the Hawks prepare to take on the Lions.

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DT Round 12 Sunday Teams

Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions, Sunday, Aurora Stadium

Hawthorn
In: Thomas Murphy, Campbell Brown
Out: Cyril Rioli (hamstring), Liam Shiels (illness)
As mentioned yesterday, Shiels value won't rise just yet as he won't play his 3rd game due to illness. Defensive Murphy and Brown are rushed back into Hawks line-up.

B: Brent Guerra, Robert Campbell, Thomas Murphy
HB: Beau Muston, Luke Hodge, Grant Birchall
C: Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Chance Bateman
HF: Ben McGlynn, Lance Franklin, Campbell Brown
F: Michael Osborne, Jarryd Roughead, Mark Williams
Foll: Simon Taylor, Brad Sewell, Xavier Ellis
I/C: Stuart Dew, Brent Renouf, Ryan Schoenmakers, Travis Tuck
Emg: Jarryd Morton, Beau Dowler, Josh Kennedy

Brisbane Lions
In: Troy Selwood, Jason Roe
Out: Josh Drummond (calf), Travis Johnstone (back)
Drummond is out injured, along with the late exclusions of Johnstone (bad news for 7,000 odd DT coaches) and Daniel Merrett. $212k defender Roe gets a surprising late call-up for his 4th game of 2009.

B: Ashley McGrath, Tim Notting, Jed Adcock
HB: Sam Sheldon, Lachlan Henderson, Joel Macdonald
C: Albert Proud, Simon Black, Daniel Rich
HF: Michael Rischitelli, Jonathan Brown, James Polkinghorne
F: Rhan Hooper, Daniel Bradshaw, Luke Power
Foll: Mitch Clark, Cheynee Stiller, Justin Sherman
I/C: Jared Brennan, Scott Harding, Jason Roe, Troy Selwood
Emg: Aaron Cornelius, Jack Redden, Tom Rockliff

Adelaide v North Melbourne, Sunday afternoon, AAMI

Adelaide
In: Brent Reilly
Out: Simon Goodwin (knee)
As expected Reilly comes in for the injured Goodwin. If you're one of the 40,000 DT coaches who still own Jared Petrenko, he's one of the emergencies.

B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Andy Otten
HB: Nathan van Berlo, Nathan Bock, Andrew McLeod
C: Patrick Dangerfield, Michael Doughty, David Mackay
HF: Chris Knights, Scott Stevens, Richard Douglas
F: Jason Porplyzia, Kurt Tippett, Bernie Vince
Foll: Ivan Maric, Tyson Edwards, Scott Thompson
I/C: Brad Moran, Brent Reilly, Taylor Walker, Brad Symes
Emg: James Sellar, Jared Petrenko, Tony Armstrong

North Melbourne
In: Lachie Hansen, Jack Ziebell, Corey Jones, Cruize Garlett
Out: Matt Campbell (hamstring), Daniel Wells (hip/groin), Sam Wright (knee), Ben Warren (cheekbone)
No game for $116k defender Levi Greenwood, but Ziebell is officially back (good news for almost 90,000 DT bosses). Also look out for debutant Garlett who is a cheap-as-chips $75k midfielder.

B: Lachie Hansen, Scott Thompson, Josh Gibson
HB: Scott McMahon, Nathan Grima, Brady Rawlings
C: Gavin Urquhart, Michael Firrito, Ben Ross
HF: Jack Ziebell, Drew Petrie, Cruize Garlett
F: Corey Jones, Aaron Edwards, Lindsay Thomas
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Adam Simpson, Andrew Swallow
I/C: Sam Power, Daniel Pratt, David Hale, Leigh Harding
Emg: Daniel Harris, Levi Greenwood, Michael Wundke

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Around The Grounds

• West Coast assistant coach Scott Burns has revealed Eagles star Daniel Kerr's form has been affected by the fact he has been playing with niggling injuries throughout 2009. Almost 20,000 DT coaches own Kerr, but his form hasn't been great this season seeing his price drop almost $100k with an average score of 63. But Burns claimed Kerr, a $243k midfielder, has been playing through injury so DT coaches can hope his form improves with the benefit of a bit of rest. Kerr missed out last round through suspension but returns to play Richmond on Saturday before another week off with the split round.
  

• Rob Murphy will officially be back for the Western Bulldogs this weekend after overcoming a hamstring injury. The $336k forward got through the Bulldogs' main training session in Darwin on Thursday and will play against Port on Saturday night. Murphy said, "It wasn't a really bad hamstring but I was still a bit tight last week so we thought to wait another one."
  

• Adelaide coach Neil Craig has admitted $86k defender/forward Shaun McKernan (brother of Corey) could be in line for an AFL game soon. Craig said, "Shaun came under strong consideration last week and, if his form continues at South (in the SANFL) and with the things he’s doing there, he’ll play AFL football this year."

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