Medhurst Misses Another

Collingwood's $259k fwd Paul Medhurst - owned by over 20,000 DT coaches - will miss out again this weekend due to a foot injury.

“He wasn’t [able to train] … and on the basis of that he won’t be available for selection,” Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s a foot problem that he’s had before, and it hasn’t responded as quickly as we thought, so he certainly won’t be available this week, but we’re hopeful that next week he’ll be up and going.

“He had a stress reaction last time, a bit of a hot spot in the foot, which is not a fracture or anything like that but there’s a bit of pain there so we just want to make sure he can control that pain first and then hopefully get him back up and going.”

Read more »

Roo Could Be DT Finals Must-Have

St Kilda's $445k premium forward Nick Riewoldt is on track to return to AFL ranks in the latter part of the season.

Riewoldt has been back running with the Saints and could return just in time for the DT finals.

At his price, that's not bad news for those who sold him. Curiously almost 25,000 DT coaches still have him!

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said: “He is running at the higher end; he’s not yet 100 per cent but he is certainly doing a lot of quality work and it’s been pleasantly surprising because I’ve stepped away from it and got really good reports off the surgeon.

“We’re really optimistic that Nick will be back in the latter third of the season.”

But Lyon didn't offer a return date.

“If I put a timeframe on it, it becomes a countdown and every week [people are asking] ‘is he playing?’” he said.

"There are no certainties until it occurs but he’s really vibrant and positive.”

Read more »

Freo Set For Changes

If you've got any Fremantle fringe players in your DreamTeam look out as the Dockers could make a few changes this week.

Dockers coach Mark Harvey said on Wednesday: "We’ve had three big games in 14 days and we might just need to make a few changes through that."

$184k midfielder Matt de Boer and $246k defender Clancee Pearce travelled with the squad to Sydney last week and could be a chance.

Also $89k defender Dylan Roberton might be in the blender. He, of course, has only played 2 games and is ready to burst his bubble.

Read more »

Bruce Close To Dees Return

Melbourne's $381k midfielder Cameron Bruce could return for the Dees after a hamstring injury.

$327k fwd Matthew Bate is also a chance, but Demons coach Dean Bailey rated Bruce the more likely.

"Matthew might be close. Brucey actually trained reasonably well last week, wasn't quite as bad as first thought, so he might be better than 50-50."

Melbourne face reigning premiers Geelong at Skilled Stadium this weekend.

Read more »

Brock McLean Back

Carlton have revealed $293k midfielder Brock McLean will be back from injury this week.

"McLean was a chance to play last week," football manager Steven Icke said on Tuesday.

"But we just held him over for another week and if he gets through all the training this week then he's up for selection.

"He's had some quad soreness and that's what primarily kept him out over the last couple of weeks. Initially he had a hip injury, but it was the quad injury he sustained in the Collingwood game which has been the issue in the last couple of weeks."

Icke also revealed Andrew Walker (shoulder) and Brad Fisher (knee) were closer to returns, while Ryan Houlihan will resume after being a late withdrawal last week with a hamstring worry.

Chris Yarran will probably miss with a thigh injury, while Kane Lucas is definitely out.

Read more »

Daniel Bradshaw To Miss Three

Sydney media release...
Sydney Swans forward Daniel Bradshaw had an arthroscope today on the right knee he injured in the third term of Saturday's game against Fremantle.

Bradshaw had minor wear and tear in his knee which was cleaned up, but otherwise no significant problems were found.

Bradshaw is expected to miss three matches and be available for selection to play Collingwood on June 26, the weekend after the Club's split round break.

As Swans coach Paul Roos confirmed yesterday, Tadhg Kennelly has strained his medial ligament and will also miss three matches.

Read more »

Motlop Suspended By Club For One Match

Port Adelaide media release...
Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop has been suspended by the club for one match.

The club-imposed suspension has come after Motlop left the team hotel in Darwin to pick his girlfriend up from the airport early last Saturday morning when she arrived at 2am on a flight from Adelaide.

This came ahead of the Saturday night game in Darwin. There was no other breach involved. The club has also fined Motlop $2,500.

Power Football Operations Manager Peter Rohde says the decision was made by the football department in conjunction with the leadership group.

“While we understand this is a challenging time for Daniel in his personal life and he believed he was doing the right thing by his girlfriend, he has nevertheless not met the standards the club requires or accepts regarding professional preparation for a game,” Rohde said.

“We are very serious about setting high standards and Daniel has unfortunately not met those standards. He made a poor decision regarding his preparation and he accepts that.

“We will now work closely with Daniel to help him bounce back to be the player we know he can be.”

A decision on whether Motlop returns through the SANFL or AFL will be made next week.

Read more »

Bombers Injury Concerns

Essendon coach Matthew Knights has revealed a few of his side's injury concerns ahead of the Bombers clash with the Dogs on Friday night.

Nathan Lovett-Murray is a chance after a foot injury, while Jake Melksham is only 50-50 due to an ankle injury.

Ricky Dyson is an outside chance with a knee problem, while after a month out Kyle Reimers may return via the VFL following a thumb injury.

Read more »