MRP Update: Week For McVeigh

Essendon's $318k midfielder Mark McVeigh will miss Friday's match against Carlton after accepting the match review panel's one-match suspension for striking Melbourne's Jared Rivers.

McVeigh would have put him self at risk of a two-match ban if he contested the charge, so wisely he accepted the one-game suspension.

Geelong's $391k midfielder Cameron Ling has been offered a reprimand for striking Freo's Nic Suban. If Ling contests the ruling, he risks a one-match suspension.

Freo's $223k defender Antoni Grover is in the same boat as Ling, offered a reprimand for striking Geelong's Steve Johnson, but should he contest the charge he risks a one-match ban.

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News From The Reserves

- First off, in the VFL, plenty of axed Richmond stars were in action for Coburg Tigers as they lost to Port Melbourne by 45 points.

Popular DT defender Joel Bowden was one of the Tigers' best with 27 disposals and 8 marks down back, while Jordan McMahon collected 27 touches and those performances will push their case for an AFL recall. It wasn't a great game though for $294k mid Mark Coughlan, while ruckman Troy Simmonds didn't play because of a groin injury.

Williamstown thrashed Geelong by 61 points with Bulldogs defender Tom Williams getting through the game despite some back soreness and he'll be a chance for an AFL recall at Whitten Oval next weekend. Bad news for Dogs fans was that young ruckman Ayce Cordy sustained a nasty neck injury, while defender Tim Callan will be monitored during the week after concussion.

For the Cats, forward Matthew Stokes responded to the seniors axe with a best ground performance for the losers collecting 43 possessions and booting 2 goals. Key forward Tom Lonergan was also named in Geelong's best.

The Box Hill Hawks defeated Sandringham Zebras by 26 points this weekend too, with Hawthorn-listed midfielder Josh Kennedy the best for the victors with 30 possessions. Brendan Whitecross also kicked two goals for the Hawks.

For Sandringham, of their St Kilda brigade, Raphael Clarke pushed his AFL case with 21 disposals and 5 marks in midfield. Ben McEvoy claimed 33 hitouts in the ruck and Leigh Fisher racked up 22 disposals down back. Also defender Sean Dempster got through the game unscathed after a long injury layoff and will be in contention for the seniors next weekend.

Bad news for the Saints though, was that Fisher ended up injured with a hamstring problem along with young midfielder David Armitage who had a shoulder problem.

- In the SANFL, Central Districts beat North Adelaide, but there was bad news for Crows fans with forward Nick Gill ending the game on crutches and confirmed out for 5-6 weeks with an ankle problem.

For North, Crows-listed $86k midfielder Tony Armstrong had a good afternoon off half-back with 21 touches, while Phil Davis did well too with 20 disposals.

Woodville-West Torrens Eagles beat South Adelaide by 21 points this weekend too, with more Crows impressing. Robert Shirley racked up 24 stats, Jared Petrenko did well with 15 touches, while Shaun McKernan was amongst the best again for the Panthers and must be close to an AFL game after nearly 30 hitouts in the ruck. Port's Matt Broadbent was good for the Eagles too, collecting 19 possessions in a solid game full of hard chases and tackling. Bad news for Adelaide, is Jarrhan Jacky did his hamstring during the game.

Port Adelaide rallied themselves to defeat Norwood at Alberton on Friday by 27 points. Port Power forward Nathan Krakouer was dangerous with 18 possessions and 8 marks and he booted 2 goals for the Magpies. For Norwood, Port's Nick Lower was okay with 21 disposals.

- In the WAFL, Subiaco went top of the ladder after beating South Fremantle by 28 points. For Souths, Daniel Gilmore must be close to an AFL recall after 15 kicks, 20 handballs, 4 marks and 5 tackles in midfield. Another Freo-listed player, Ryan Murphy, was well held.

Claremont surprised East Fremantle this weekend too, with a good win in bad conditions. Bad news for Eagles fans though is Brent Staker was injured during the match and it's been confirmed as a finger problem and will see him out for 3-5 weeks.

- In the Canberra AFL, Sydney's reserves were thumped by Belconnen by 109 points. Luke Ablett was the Swans' best with 40 touches, while much-hyped youngster Patrick Veszpremi did well with 4 goals. Mike Pyke was good in the ruck before injuring his calf late, while defender Nick Malceski was named in the best too.

- In the QAFL, the Lions reserves weren't in action this weekend.

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DT Round 12 (Split-Round) Movers & Shakers

OK so here's where I assess the price changes and fluctuations going on in the world of DreamTeam. Of course, as it's the second-half of the split-round, today's edition is a rather short one, but nevertheless hopefully a helpful one.

For Essendon, star midfielder Mark McVeigh's value becomes all the more affordable by the week after a score of 86 saw him drop $24k to $321k. The concern is his date with the tribunal though.

Also at Windy Hill a couple of veterans are on the move, with Scotty Lucas (106) up $24k to $307k, while Matthew Lloyd (51) is down $23k to $259k.

For Melbourne, it seems popular DT defender Jack Grimes may have hit a wall with a score of 55 seeing his price increase only $1.7k to $261k and with a breakeven of 83 next week, many coaches are thinking 'trade?'.

Other news from the Dees, is young lads Neville Jetta and Kyle Cheney are on the rise both posting substantial increases, while midfielder Cale Morton's (47) value drops significantly to $359k down $27.5k.

For Collingwood, Alan Didak and Heath Shaw are the talk of the town with improving performances equating to better scores and increasing prices. Forward Didak posted 141 so he's up $26k to $375k, while Shaw is becoming more consistent with a score of 85 and he's up $8k to $355k which is very affordable.

Also I wanted to make a special mention of star onballer Dane Swan who smahed the $500k mark this weekend with a score of 127 taking his value up $11k to a ridiculous $507k. On the flipside, fellow midfielder Leon Davis is down $25k to $397k despite an 89.

For Sydney, forward Ryan O'Keefe is really hitting form with a score of 149 taking him up $24k to $419k.

Also worth a mention is midfielder Kristin Thornton who played his fifth game this season scoring a 43 taking him up $14k to $133k much to the delight of 3,500 DT coaches.

For Geelong, there's a bit of attention with a few sliders coming in starting with DT fave Gary Ablett. Ablett scored 76 this weekend, so his value drops $6.5k to $484k with a mammoth 141 breakeven next weekend. If you haven't got him, watch this space.

Other sliders at the Cattery are Joel Selwood (55) who is down $17k to $414k with a breakeven of 176 next weekend, while Stevie Johnson didn't slide as much as hoped by many DT coaches down just a measly $400 after scoring 130.

For Fremantle, defender Greg Broughton is winning many DT admirers after posting a superb 122 to inflate his value $50k to $233k. Broughton's got a breakeven of minus 7 next weekend, so if you're thinking about trading him, don't sell him just yet.

Also for the Dockers young midfielder Matt de Boer had a good game scoring 68 and is up $28k to $168k.

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Crows 'Quietly Confident' On Goodwin

The Adelaide Advertiser has today claimed the Crows are 'quietly confident' $336k mid/forward Simon Goodwin will be fit to play next round against Sydney.

Goodwin, who is owned by over 20,000 DT coaches, missed Adelaide's last match with a slight medial ligament strain in his knee and was expected to face a race against time to be fit for next round.

But Adelaide footy operations manager John Reid said, "He didn't train yesterday, but we're expecting him to train Tuesday.

"We won't really know until he has a hit out, but we're expecting him to be better than a fair chance of playing."

Adelaide play Sydney on Saturday afternoon at AAMI Stadium.

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Around The Grounds

• Brisbane's $245k ruckman Jamie Charman will have an ankle reconstruction and subsequently has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Charman's been battling the injury since Round 4. "I tried to run on Thursday and it just didn't pull up as we would have liked," Charman said. "It's been eight weeks and I feel now I may have been delaying the inevitable, it is disappointing but at least this way it will be right for next season."

• Adelaide have admitted $374k forward Brett Burton is almost ready for a return to footy after a long layoff with a serious knee injury. Reid said, "Brett's just about ready to go. Given Brett's missed so much football, our preference would be for him to be brought back slowly through the reserves but that's something the club will discuss."

• More news from West Lakes is that it's been reported in the Advertiser that $248k midfielder Brent Reilly will miss just the one match after injuring his hamstring against North in the split-round. It's also believed $122k forward Trent Hentschel will return from a knee injury in three weeks.

• The Australian has reported Brisbane Lions' $227k midfielder Troy Selwood will miss up to 6 weeks with the dislocated shoulder he sustained in Round 12 against Hawthorn. It's also claimed popular $371k forward/ruck Mitch Clark will be available next round after a quad problem against the Hawks
  

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Pendlebury 'Not Too Bad'

Plenty of DreamTeam coaches will be buoyed by news that Collingwood believes star $455k midfielder Scott Pendlebury will miss only 2-3 matches.

Pendlebury hurt his knee early in Saturday night's win over Sydney but the Pies believe it isn't a severe injury.

Collingwood football chief Geoff Walsh said today, "It's not too bad."

"Our docs are pretty confident it's just a strained medial (ligament) and nothing more than that, which isn't too bad.

"He's probably looking at two to three (games out)."

Collingwood will still need to assess scans during the week but that is positive news. Nevertheless it still does throw up a dilemma for many DT coaches.

But they'll be enthused by the fact that because Pendlebury got injured so early in Saturday's match he scored a donut thus his price won't be affected so his sale value will still be strong.

Other injury news for Collingwood is positive, with late withdrawal Nathan Brown likely to be okay for next round despite knee soreness, while forward John Anthony is expected to be cleared to play next week after a corked hip on Saturday night.

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McVeigh Report Worries Knights

Essendon coach Matthew Knights has admitted he's worried about star midfielder Mark McVeigh's availability in the next few weeks after being reported in Friday's win over Melbourne.

McVeigh, a $321k midfielder, was reported in the third term of the Demons clash after striking Melbourne's Jared Rivers.

Knights said after the game, “We’d love to have him available for Carlton and Collingwood [in the next two weeks] … so it would be disappointing if he was rubbed out.

“I must admit I’d just come down from the box just before the break and I saw the scuffle break out.

“I was just preferring that our boys kept themselves out of trouble [but] that wasn’t the case.

“I haven’t seen the incident live yet, so I’ll have a look at that when I go home tonight. I’ve just got to see how it looks.”

McVeigh, a star man at Windy Hill, has only just returned to the AFL after a long layoff with injury. His slow recovery from injury has meant his DT value is sliding into a good price but this latest suspension setback may put off potential suitors.

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DT Round 12 Injury & Suspension News

The split-round, again, means another short edition. But anyway here's where I'll keep track of the injury and suspension news over the course of the weekend.

Fremantle v Geelong; The big worry is Dockers defender Antoni Grover who is on report for striking. Geelong Cameron Ling might be in trouble too after a gut punch on Byron Schammer. Youny Docker Clancee Pearce had a hamstring problem which is a concern too.

Collingwood v Sydney; The Pies' popular $455k midfielder Scott Pendlebury is the big news after a bad knee injury. It's been confirmed as a medial strain to his left knee but the damage will be assessed during the week. Other concerns are defender Nathan Brown who was a late withdrawal after his sore knee didn't come good, while forward John Anthony struggled with a nasty rib injury. For the Swans, Jared McVeigh copped a shoulder injury but played on, while Jared Crouch probably shouldn't have been playing as he struggled with a knee worry.

Essendon v Melbourne; Having just returned from injury Mark McVeigh may spend more time on the sidelines in the next few weeks after being reported for striking. It was a jumper punch which didn't look good. Injury-wise, $293k def/forward Adam McPhee went off early with a calf injury but came back, while Brent Prismall went off after a knee to the ribs but told 3AW after the game he was fine.

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