Essendon Bombers vs GWS Giants LIVE: Ailing Bombers chase Marvel miracle win against Giants
The Bombers' tumultuous season plagued by injuries continues to worsen after losing star playmaker Nic Martin (knee) and midfielder Will Setterfield (foot) long-term in Saturday night's ugly loss against Richmond.
Essendon confirmed on Wednesday young midfielder Elijah Tsatas had also joined the injury list after straining his hamstring during the defeat.
Rising forward Nate Caddy and midfielder Ben Hobbs were also injured, but are expected to only miss a week.
Essendon will equal the most debutants in a season in the AFL era - 13 - when mid-season draftee Liam McMahon plays against the Giants at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
Archie Perkins, Jade Gresham, Vigo Visentini, Dylan Shiel and Matt Guelfi also come into the side amidst a whopping six changes, with veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein rested.
Bombers coach Brad Scott was almost lost for words when detailing the injury crisis after the Richmond game, but was more upbeat a day out from facing the Giants.
'A five-day break, there's no time to be getting distracted from what I need to do,' Scott said on Wednesday.
'I do have the utmost confidence in the people who are looking at our program. There's no doubt we will relocate resources to that (medical conditioning) space.
'We know better than anyone this year how important it is to get your players fit and available.
'It's hard not to be really frustrated, almost exasperated, just devastating seeing players like Nic Martin and Will Setterfield suffer really serious injuries.
'It's been a perfect storm of a whole range of different injuries all coming together at once.
'There are moments, don't get me wrong, where we all - including me - feel sorry for ourselves, but we've got to bounce out of that really quickly.'
Martin became the fourth Bomber to injure their ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards.
Sam Draper will also be sidelined for up to 12 months after rupturing his achilles in April.
Essendon will have 11 first-choice players sidelined against GWS - Martin, Setterfield, Caddy, Hobbs, Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford, Ben McKay, Harry Jones and Zach Reid.
The Bombers will be spared GWS at their best, with Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan and star midfielder Josh Kelly to miss the trip to Melbourne.
But GWS veteran Stephen Coniglio will make his long-awaited AFL return, having overcome a glute complaint stemming from a nerve issue suffered earlier this season.
The Giants also recalled Max Gruzewski and Toby McMullin.
Essendon will be facing up to former star Jake Stringer in Giants colours for the first time.
Stringer booted 207 goals in 123 games for the Bombers before seeking a move to GWS last off-season.
After a frustrating start to his time in western Sydney, the 31-year-old hit some serious form against Geelong last week with four goals.
'I played seven or eight years with some of those guys that have gone down with long-term injuries. My heart goes out to them,' Stringer said of Essendon's injury crisis.
'We won't be going out Thursday night taking them lightly.
'We'll be going out there thinking they're full-strength and getting after it.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- News.com.au
AFL and Carlton player Zac Williams signs up to become a registered organ donor after finding out his wife already was
Zac Williams has kicked plenty of goals in his career as an AFL star. But a recent shift off the field has lead him to quite a different goal in his personal life. After a converstaion with wife Rachel Lucas, the Carlton Football player has signed up as a registered organ donor with DonateLife. 'I'm probably one of those people that have been oblivious for so long about organ donation,' Williams told Lucas, a former Ballerina, was already a registered organ donor and helped encourage the former GWS Giant to do the same, along with other family and close friends. 'It was actually a very passionate conversation that we had about it,' Williams said. 'Hearing stories from people that have received organ donations and how it saved their lives, was really inspirational. 'I was pretty easily convinced that if you become an organ donor how much you can help others.' The pair, who married in 2024 share two children, son Beckham and daughter Ayla. Williams' decision to register as a donor comes as the median time people currently on the kidney transplant wait list has risen to 2.6 years. The waiting period is dependant on individual's blood type and location, but is significantly higher than the average wait time for a liver transplant which is eight to 12 months. More than 200 Australians have died in the past five years waiting for a transplant, but there are concerns the figure may actually be higher as patients are removed from waitlists as they're conditions worsen. Williams is speaking ahead of DonateLife Week which aims to raise national awareness about organ and tissue donation between July 27 and August 3. Williams even let his good friend and rival AFL player from Port Adelaide Jeremy Finlayson know he'd made the move. Finlayson's wife Kellie was diagnosed with Stage four bowel cancel at 25 years old in 2021, after giving birth to their daughter Sophia just three months prior. Not long later in 2022 after experiencing shortness of breath, it was confirmed the disease had spread to her colon. Kellie has been receiving blood from donors helping save her life following surgeries and ongoing treatment. Williams meanwhile is facing a tough uphill battle with a struggling Carlton side that have slumped to 12th in this season's standings. The 2013 AFL rising star has seen a positional shift at times and has been a consistent member of the squad.
The Advertiser
19 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Giants' double injury blow as AFL finals race heats up
GWS have suffered a double-blow in their AFL finals bid after key pair Josh Kelly and Jack Buckley were ruled out for the rest of the home-and-away season through injuries. Kelly was substituted out of the Giants' 44-point win over Sydney on Friday night and scans have since confirmed a calf strain. The 30-year-old midfielder was also managed earlier this month with a hip issue. Tall defender Buckley also has a calf strain out of the Sydney derby and faces multiple weeks on the sidelines. The pair are among three big names to miss the Giants' huge clash with the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night, with captain Toby Greene suspended. GWS (13-6) sit sixth, two wins clear of the ninth-placed Dogs (11-8) but with an inferior percentage. Meanwhile, Collingwood are hopeful midfielder Lachie Sullivan has avoided serious damage with a posterior cruciate ligament injury that could end his season. Sullivan was subbed out of the Magpies' 36-point win over Richmond on Sunday, while Scott Pendlebury was a late withdrawal because of soreness. Pendlebury is expected to be fit to face Brisbane in an MCG blockbuster on Saturday night, but Sullivan may not feature again in the Pies' premiership push. "It's a PCL. Scans will determine how long," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said of Pendlebury's injury. "We'll just wait and see on that before making too many comments around it. "But unfortunately for the young lad he had an impact into the ground which caused the PCL (injury)." Richmond expect star midfielder Tim Taranto will be fit in round 21 after he was a late withdrawal against Collingwood with a calf injury. St Kilda youngster Lance Collard faces a stint on the sidelines after he was subbed out of the epic six-point comeback win over Melbourne on Sunday with a foot injury and ended the day on crutches. West Coast young gun Harley Reid will be hoping for a positive outcome from his scans on an injured right ankle, amid fears of a syndesmosis injury. Reid was helped off the field by two trainers in the dying stages of the Eagles' 49-point loss to Fremantle on Saturday. "I just chatted to him - he's hurt his ankle," West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said post-match. "I probably don't have much more information than that. "You can see Harley put no weight on it as he was coming off, and then he was able to walk off. "We'll go away, scan it and see." GWS have suffered a double-blow in their AFL finals bid after key pair Josh Kelly and Jack Buckley were ruled out for the rest of the home-and-away season through injuries. Kelly was substituted out of the Giants' 44-point win over Sydney on Friday night and scans have since confirmed a calf strain. The 30-year-old midfielder was also managed earlier this month with a hip issue. Tall defender Buckley also has a calf strain out of the Sydney derby and faces multiple weeks on the sidelines. The pair are among three big names to miss the Giants' huge clash with the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night, with captain Toby Greene suspended. GWS (13-6) sit sixth, two wins clear of the ninth-placed Dogs (11-8) but with an inferior percentage. Meanwhile, Collingwood are hopeful midfielder Lachie Sullivan has avoided serious damage with a posterior cruciate ligament injury that could end his season. Sullivan was subbed out of the Magpies' 36-point win over Richmond on Sunday, while Scott Pendlebury was a late withdrawal because of soreness. Pendlebury is expected to be fit to face Brisbane in an MCG blockbuster on Saturday night, but Sullivan may not feature again in the Pies' premiership push. "It's a PCL. Scans will determine how long," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said of Pendlebury's injury. "We'll just wait and see on that before making too many comments around it. "But unfortunately for the young lad he had an impact into the ground which caused the PCL (injury)." Richmond expect star midfielder Tim Taranto will be fit in round 21 after he was a late withdrawal against Collingwood with a calf injury. St Kilda youngster Lance Collard faces a stint on the sidelines after he was subbed out of the epic six-point comeback win over Melbourne on Sunday with a foot injury and ended the day on crutches. West Coast young gun Harley Reid will be hoping for a positive outcome from his scans on an injured right ankle, amid fears of a syndesmosis injury. Reid was helped off the field by two trainers in the dying stages of the Eagles' 49-point loss to Fremantle on Saturday. "I just chatted to him - he's hurt his ankle," West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said post-match. "I probably don't have much more information than that. "You can see Harley put no weight on it as he was coming off, and then he was able to walk off. "We'll go away, scan it and see." GWS have suffered a double-blow in their AFL finals bid after key pair Josh Kelly and Jack Buckley were ruled out for the rest of the home-and-away season through injuries. Kelly was substituted out of the Giants' 44-point win over Sydney on Friday night and scans have since confirmed a calf strain. The 30-year-old midfielder was also managed earlier this month with a hip issue. Tall defender Buckley also has a calf strain out of the Sydney derby and faces multiple weeks on the sidelines. The pair are among three big names to miss the Giants' huge clash with the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night, with captain Toby Greene suspended. GWS (13-6) sit sixth, two wins clear of the ninth-placed Dogs (11-8) but with an inferior percentage. Meanwhile, Collingwood are hopeful midfielder Lachie Sullivan has avoided serious damage with a posterior cruciate ligament injury that could end his season. Sullivan was subbed out of the Magpies' 36-point win over Richmond on Sunday, while Scott Pendlebury was a late withdrawal because of soreness. Pendlebury is expected to be fit to face Brisbane in an MCG blockbuster on Saturday night, but Sullivan may not feature again in the Pies' premiership push. "It's a PCL. Scans will determine how long," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said of Pendlebury's injury. "We'll just wait and see on that before making too many comments around it. "But unfortunately for the young lad he had an impact into the ground which caused the PCL (injury)." Richmond expect star midfielder Tim Taranto will be fit in round 21 after he was a late withdrawal against Collingwood with a calf injury. St Kilda youngster Lance Collard faces a stint on the sidelines after he was subbed out of the epic six-point comeback win over Melbourne on Sunday with a foot injury and ended the day on crutches. West Coast young gun Harley Reid will be hoping for a positive outcome from his scans on an injured right ankle, amid fears of a syndesmosis injury. Reid was helped off the field by two trainers in the dying stages of the Eagles' 49-point loss to Fremantle on Saturday. "I just chatted to him - he's hurt his ankle," West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said post-match. "I probably don't have much more information than that. "You can see Harley put no weight on it as he was coming off, and then he was able to walk off. "We'll go away, scan it and see."
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
WA Player Watch: Western Bulldog Aaron Naughton bags seven as young stars put hands up in VFL
As the AFL season reaches its pointy end, The West Australian takes a look around the country to see which WA products are having the biggest say at their club. The Bulldogs' spearhead had managed only 19 goals through the first half of 2025 as the rise and rise of giant father-son product Sam Darcy took the league by storm. But the Rockingham product stood firm and has sent a potent reminder of his depth of talent, matching his 19 goals from the first half in the past four weeks alone with three bags of five or more. Naughton again filled his boots against injury-riddled Essendon on Friday night, kicking a career-high seven goals in his side's monster 93-point victory to remain in the top eight. The former top-10 draft pick has established himself as a regular for the high-flying Crows this season, so much so that he got a run in the middle against Port Adelaide. In a 98-point Showdown massacre, Curtin collected 22 disposals and four clearances, with the 20-year-old showing off his strong frame. The most exciting thing? He has a brother in this year's draft who is also tipped to be a talented AFL footballer. Speedy midfielder/forward Jones is doing his best to put his hand up for selection at the Bulldogs as they fight for finals. Playing in the VFL against Essendon, the boy from Mt Barker was a dangerous presence, kicking two goals from 14 disposals and four marks. After kicking a career-best two goals against West Coast in Perth earlier this year, Tholstrup appeared keen to get back among the Demons' senior ranks for the rematch while playing for Casey. The wingman looked sharp around the contest, using his hands to feed the ball out from his seven clearances before getting back into the action with 20 touches and a goal.
