Blues midfielder under new umpire contact rules; Dons lose two talented forwards as injury crisis deepens

The Age

2 days ago

More to come
Bombers injury woes deepen
Essendon's lengthy injury list grew longer on Tuesday, with news that emerging star Nate Caddy and fellow forward Ben Hobbs were unavailable for the Thursday-night game against Greater Western Sydney.
With the young pair sidelined, the Bombers have 14 players listed as unavailable for the prime-time match – almost 30 per cent of their extended playing list of 47.
The Bombers said Caddy had 'pulled up sore' from the weekend's loss to Richmond and would miss the game, while Hobbs will absent because of a minor groin injury. The short turnaround from Saturday night's game to the clash with GWS on Thursday was part of the reason both players were ruled out, with the club expecting them both to be available the following week against the Western Bulldogs.
The Bombers had already lost Will Setterfield and Nic Martin from the team that played the Tigers last week for the rest of the season. Setterfield sustained a Lisfranc foot injury which requires surgery, while Nic Martin is to undergo a knee reconstruction next week after tearing his ACL.
The Bombers injury list was already extensive, with just half the players who filled the top-10 in their best and fairest award last season unavailable for selection. In a cruel twist of fate for the Dons, Jake Stringer (ninth in last year's best and fairest award) will be a key player for GWS on Thursday, having returned to his best form with four goals against Geelong last week after his own injury woes earlier this season.
Searching for positive news, the Bombers said Mason Redman recovered well after his return game from a hamstring injury, while came back through the VFL team without mishap.
The Giants, meanwhile, will welcome back veteran Stephen Coniglio for his long-awaited AFL return, but will be without midfielder Josh Kelly, who has a recurring hip complaint, and spearhead Jesse Hogan.
Coniglio is set to line-up against Essendon after spending 15 weeks on the sidelines.
The 31-year-old has not played at AFL level since round three after suffering a glute complaint stemming from a nerve issue.
Coniglio, who was originally slated to miss just one week, returns to the senior team after a two-week stint in the VFL.
'I think 'Cogs' will be good. He got through main training today, felt really good,' Giants coach Adam Kingsley said on Tuesday.
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'He's had two games back. We think he's probably ready to go, so I'd expect to see him.'
The Giants will hope Coniglio's return will soften the blow of losing both Jesse Hogan and Kelly.
With Hogan already confirmed out with a foot injury following their 26-point win over Geelong, Kingsley was forced to also rest Kelly.
'His hip is giving him a little bit of grief, so we need to give him a week off,' Kingsley said.
'It (the hip injury) settles, but it's something that's ongoing.
'We need to manage him, and this may not be the last game that he misses for the remainder of the season.
'We'll just sort of play it symptomatically, and a little bit like Jesse, you've got to make the calls when you think you need to make the call.'
All-Australian defender Sam Taylor remains on the sidelines for at least one more week with a fractured toe.
Elsewhere, Gold Coast will be without Touk Miller for at least three weeks.
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The fifth-placed Suns lose the in-form midfielder ahead of a tough two-game stretch against top-eight teams Adelaide and Brisbane.
Miller had suffered the injury in the second quarter of their thrilling six-point win over Collingwood.
The 29-year-old has averaged 25.3 disposals and 5.4 clearances in a star-studded midfield including Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.