DT Round 12 Teams

Another shorter edition today due to the split-round, but anyway there's still some interesting changes. The big inclusions are Geelong's Joel Corey and Essendon's Jason Winderlich as well as Melbourne rookie Liam Jurrah while David Zaharakis drops out at Essendon and Paul Medhurst still isn't back for the Magpies.

Essendon v Melbourne, Friday night, Docklands

Essendon
Ins: Dustin Fletcher, Andrew Welsh, Jason Winderlich
Outs: Bachar Houli (virus), Jay Neagle, David Zaharakis (omitted)
Winderlich (who averages almost 98 this season) returning is good news for some, but $234k midfielder Zaharakis dropping out will be a big problem for almost 20,000 DT coaches. Still no Michael Hurley.

B: Mark McVeigh, Tayte Pears, Dustin Fletcher
HB: Courtenay Dempsey, Adam McPhee, Heath Hocking
C: Andrew Lovett, Ricky Dyson, Brent Prismall
HF: Hayden Skipworth, Cale Hooker, Jason Winderlich
F: Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas, Alwyn Davey
Foll: Patrick Ryder, Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton
I/C: Sam Lonergan, Andrew Welsh, Kyle Reimers, Angus Monfries
Emg: Jay Neagle, Tyson Slattery, David Zaharakis

Melbourne
Ins: Clint Bartram, Jamie Bennell, Neville Jetta, Liam Jurrah, Stefan Martin, Brad Miller
Outs: Mark Jamar (quad), Nathan Jones (virus), James McDonald (knee), Matthew Warnock (virus), Daniel Bell, Addam Maric (omitted)
Massive changes at Demonland, with plenty of rookies coming in which is good news for DT coaches looking for cheap cover or downgrades. $126k forward Jurrah will be one to look out for if you want to downgrade from injured Jack Ziebell. Also $150k rookie forward Jack Watts gets another go.

B: Matthew Whelan, Stefan Martin, Clint Bartram
HB: Aaron Davey, Jared Rivers, James Frawley
C: Neville Jetta, Brock McLean, Jamie Bennell
HF: Russell Robertson, Brad Miller, Matthew Bate
F: Brad Green, Colin Sylvia, Liam Jurrah
Foll: Paul Johnson, Jack Grimes, Cameron Bruce
I/C: Brent Moloney, Cale Morton, Jack Watts, Kyle Cheney
Emg: Lynden Dunn, Addam Maric, Ricky Petterd

Sydney v Collingwood, Saturday night, ANZ Stadium

Sydney
Ins: Ed Barlow, Nick Smith, Kris Thornton
Outs: Amon Buchanan (knee), Craig Bolton (knee), Nick Malceski (omitted)
Three senior players drop out for 3 young lads at Sydney, with reasonably popular DT defenders Malceski and Bolton missing out a concern for some. $119k midfielder Thornton gets another AFL chance after not really setting the world on fire in 4 games earlier this year, while $168k midfielder Smith makes his 2009 AFL debut.

B: Paul Bevan, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Martin Mattner
HB: Rhyce Shaw, Ted Richards, Jared Crouch
C: Adam Goodes, Brett Kirk, Craig Bird
HF: Jarred Moore, Ryan O’Keefe, Kieren Jack
F: Heath Grundy, Barry Hall, Michael O’Loughlin
Foll: Darren Jolly, Jarrad McVeigh, Jude Bolton
I/C: Ed Barlow, Nick Smith, Kris Thornton, Jesse White
Emg: Luke Ablett, Matt O’Dwyer, Mike Pyke

Collingwood
No change
Popular DT forward Dale Thomas plays despite some fitness doubts midweek, while Paul Medhurst is back but only as an emergency. $155k defender Nathan Brown is selected despite his own injury troubles and rookie forward Steele Sidebottom gets another game much to the delight of almost 70,000 DT coaches.

B: Harry O’Brien, Simon Prestigiacomo, Shannon Cox
HB: Nick Maxwell, Leigh Brown, Sharrod Wellingham
C: Brad Dick, Tarkyn Lockyer, Dale Thomas
HF: Scott Pendlebury, Travis Cloke, Leon Davis
F: Alan Didak, John Anthony, Heath Shaw
Foll: Josh Fraser, Dane Swan, Shane O’Bree
I/C: Nathan Brown, Martin Clarke, Steele Sidebottom, Alan Toovey
Emg: Tyson Goldsack, Paul Medhurst, Cameron Wood

Fremantle v Geelong, Sunday, Subiaco Oval

Fremantle
Ins: Antoni Grover, Luke McPharlin, Tim Ruffles, Clayton Hinkley
Outs: Josh Head (omitted)
Key defenders McPharlin and Grover come straight back into the 18, with only Head dropping out so a couple of those on the extended bench will go. Good news is $86k midfield/forward Michael Walters has done enough to stay in the team. Bad news is there's still no Hayden Ballentyne.

B: Greg Broughton, Antoni Grover, Scott Thornton
HB: Steven Dodd, Luke McPharlin, Steven Hill
C: Nic Suban, Paul Hasleby, Garrick Ibbotson
HF: Paul Duffield, Matthew Pavlich, Andrew Foster
F: Michael Walters, Chris Tarrant, Dean Solomon
Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Byron Schammer, David Mundy
I/C (from): Adam Campbell, Matt de Boer, Clancee Pearce, Tim Ruffles, Clayton Hinkley, Brett Peake, Kepler Bradley

Geelong
Ins: David Johnson, Max Rooke, Joel Corey, Simon Hogan, Harry Taylor
Outs: Tom Lonergan, Nathan Djerrkura (omitted)
Corey's return is massive for almost 27,000 DT coaches, while $282k def/mid Rooke being named is good too. Look out for Hogan (if he gets a game) as he's an $86k forward who's already played one game this season. Going the other way, there'll be no bubble-bursting for $86k midfielder Djerrkura this weekend as he's copped the axe.

B: Darren Milburn, Matthew Scarlett, Andrew Mackie
HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, James Kelly
C: Gary Ablett, Steve Johnson, Travis Varcoe
HF: Jimmy Bartel, Cameron Mooney, Joel Corey
F: Paul Chapman, Tom Hawkins, Shannon Byrnes
Foll: Mark Blake, Joel Selwood, Cameron Ling
I/C (from): Ryan Gamble, Shane Mumford, Mathew Stokes, David Wojcinski, David Johnson, Simon Hogan, Max Rooke

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Around The Grounds

• Melbourne's young $126k forward Liam Jurrah could be ready to make his AFL debut this Friday against Essendon according to Dees coach Dean Bailey. Bailey told melbournefc.com.au, "Liam's form in the last couple of weeks has been pretty good, so he's obviously under some consideration for this week."
  

• Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse has quelled doubts about Dale Thomas's availability for the Sydney game this weekend after the popular $296k forward missed training on Tuesday. “He’ll be right,” Malthouse said of Thomas.“We often let players have the odd couple of days off to freshen up, it's a long season."
  

• Nine News Adelaide has revealed Adelaide $262k midfielder Brent Reilly will be out of action for 3 weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury on the weekend. It also was claimed $374k forward Brett Burton would be close to a return from a long-term knee injury after the split-round.

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Ballentyne In The Mix

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has admitted Dockers $86k rookie Hayden Ballentyne is ready to play AFL footy, but didn't reveal if it would be this week or next round.

The young forward, who almost 13,000 DT coaches already own and many more are sizing up, was a late withdrawal for Freo's last match against Port and faces a fitness test for this weekend's Geelong game.

Ballentyne, Freo's number 21 selection at the 2008 AFL Draft, has a back problem but is definitely in the mix for a game.

"We think he's up for playing AFL, but we'll be guided by our fitness and strength guys," Harvey said.

"He's had a spasm and it's taken a bit longer [than expected to recover]. It's a fine line all of this. You don't want to be breaking him down at this stage."

Harvey did reveal key defensive duo Antoni Grover ($239k) and Luke McPharlin ($252k) would return this weekend against the Cats after injuries, while Des Headland (a $263k forward) would face a fitness test after a quad problem.

Young tall forward Adam Campbell ($226k), who was concussed early against Port last round, has recovered from concussion also and will be available for the Geelong game.

The Dockers coach also acknowledged $282k defender Michael Johnson (ankle) and $251k forward Chris Mayne (stress fractures) were at least a fortnight away.

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Around The Grounds

• Port Adelaide star forward Daniel Motlop will be out of action for up to 8 weeks with his latest ankle injury. Motlop has had a pin inserted in his fractured left ankle which is bad news for the 22,000 DT coaches who own Motlop, as it's time to trade. More bad news is his value will drop $29k down to $249k after the split-round lockout meaning his trade won't be a huge moneyspinner.

• A big question this weekend is whether or not Collingwood's $324k forward Paul Medhurst will be fit to face Sydney having played in the reserves on the weekend. Well Collingwood's reserves manager Paul Licuria's comments to the Australian might be an indication. Licuria said, "We were told to play Paul for 50 per cent of the match. He put in some great patches of play that showed he is a senior player, a player you would think about bringing in against the Swans this week."
  

• Sydney Swans $268k defender Craig Bolton is rated a 50-50 chance to play Collingwood this week due to a medial ligament strain. Swans coach Paul Roos said, “He ran a little bit yesterday, he’s certainly improving every day. He’ll be touch and go before the game so we’ll obviously leave it as late as we possibly can.”
  

• According to afl.com.au, Port Adelaide pair Alipate Carlile and Hamish Hartlett are expected to be fit for the Power's next match against Geelong. Carlile, a $181k defender, has had a virus recently while Hartlett, a fairly popular DT midfielder at $212k, has had hamstring problems.
  

• Hawks assistant John Barker has claimed $234k defender Stephen Gilham and $335k midfielder Rick Ladson are close to an AFL game after playing in the VFL following knee injuries. Barker also added $182k defender Trent Croad (foot) was getting closer too saying, “We are hopeful he will play a role in the second half of the year at some stage."

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Changes At Windy Hill

Essendon coach Matthew Knights has revealed a couple of senior Bombers are in the mix to return for Friday's AFL match against Melbourne.

Knights claimed $255k veteran defender Dustin Fletcher (leg), $396k midfielder Jason Winderlich (ankle) and $338k club stalwart Andrew Welsh (leg) were close to returning after injuries.

"All will play on Friday night, pending today's (Tuesday's) training session," Knights admitted, including $306k youngster Kyle Reimers who returned in Round 11 after injury.

Knights added, "Fletcher will come in, it's been seven weeks now for Dustin, he's had a good three or four weeks on the training track, so he'll come into the side.

"We're looking to bring Andrew Welsh back in, which has been a marvellous comeback.

"Jason's (Winderlich) first major training session is today – if he gets through he'll come back into the 22."

And in more positive news, the Bombers coach also revealed $214k midfielder Henry Slattery was close to a return but perhaps doubtful for Friday's game after a hamstring problem.

"Slattery would have to really impress me today to come into the team," Knights said.

In other injury news, Essendon also made it known big $222k ruckman Jason Laycock will miss the rest of the season with the foot injury he's been battling.

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DreamTeam Update: Tribunal Pleas

The AFL tribunal will not meet this week after no charges from the weekend where serious enough to warrant it.

Richmond's Jack Riewoldt was up for a striking charge on West Coast's Daniel Kerr, but the $278k Tiger forward opted to accept a reprimand.

Thus Riewoldt is free to play next week and the AFL tribunal is free to enjoy a night off.

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Judd Good To Go

DreamTeam coaches can breathe a big sigh of relief after Carlton confirmed star midfielder Chris Judd would be fine to face Essendon next round.

Judd sustained a broken nose in Friday night's loss against St Kilda and underwent surgery on Saturday.

But the former Eagle returned to training on Monday and is ready to go.

Carlton football manager Steven Icke said, "We were a bit surprised he came out and trained, but such is the quality and professionalism of the player that nothing should surprise. He trained well."

In other injury news at Carlton, Simon Wiggins will be available for the Bombers game after shaking off a hamstring problem, along with Bret Thornton who was a late withdrawal on Friday.

Carlton also revealed ruckman Robbie Warnock was a fortnight away from a VFL return, while Andrew Walker was a month off.

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Ziebell Out For Two Months... Sell!

Super North Melbourne rookie forward/midfielder Jack Ziebell will be out of action for between 6-10 weeks after breaking his leg in Sunday's game against Adelaide.

The Kangaroos confirmed in a statement on Monday night, Ziebell had a fractured fibula meaning he'll be out for about 2 months.

Almost 90,000 DT coaches own Ziebell but that diagnosis means it is time to sell the young star.

Ziebell scored 23 against the Crows, meaning his value will drop $26k and thus his sale price will be $246k which is still quite handy.

In other North Melbourne injury news, the Kangaroos rated forward Lindsay Thomas will face 2-3 weeks on the sidelines after straining his hamstring late against Adelaide.

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