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The Advertiser
an hour 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."
News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
Roos' identity crisis amid Clarko question as ‘sickening' loss lays bare failed draft trade gamble
Questions continue to be asked of North Melbourne's on-field identity after a 'sickening' 101-point loss to Geelong on Saturday night amid more evidence of a failed draft gamble. The Kangaroos finished a staggering -41 for inside-50s, -10 for clearances, -16 for contested possessions, and -18 for marks inside 50 on a night they couldn't come close to halving the territory battle nor begin to contain the Cats' purring forward line, with superstar Jeremy Cameron running riot for 11 majors. It was North Melbourne's 14th-straight defeat at the hands of Geelong and its fifth-straight loss as it remains with a measly four wins to its name for the season. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. 'For North Melbourne fans, that would've been a sickening watch; incredibly frustrating. You feel sorry for the Kangaroos fans, who have watched this for six years,' the Herald Sun's Jay Clark told Fox Footy's Super Saturday Live post-match coverage. Dual All-Australian and two-time Kangaroos premiership player David King pondered the machinations of the club's game plan and lamented its inability to adequately defend. 'This (the North Melbourne rooms) would be an awful place to be, at the moment. It's a tough one, because when you watch them play, it's kind of difficult to work out what they're trying to execute,' he began. 'Are they handballing when the options are available, and then run and gun? Or is it take territory and get numbers to drop of ball? Is it a mix of both? I don't know what they're doing defensively; that's just not working at all — 40 (Geelong) scores tonight.' The Cats scored 27 times from 58 intercepts on Saturday night, exemplifying the ease of which they were able to transition and punish the Roos on the counter. 'They just smashed them; they walked through them. The amount of times Jeremy Cameron was out the back by himself, and it'd be uncontested possession, uncontested possession, goal,' King continued. 'I'd love to ask Alastair Clarkson 'what are you trying to achieve?' Show us what it should look like, and then we can at least enjoy the ride. Because we just go from week to week and not see it. We have seen it in patches throughout the year, but we're not seeing it now. 'I know the ruckman's (Tristan Xerri) not there, I know Nick Larkey's not there, but that shouldn't have as big an effect as what it does on their ability to stop the opposition moving the ball full length of the ground.' Patrick Dangerfield was tactically substituted out of the game, his 200th for Geelong, and the sight of the veteran sitting on the bench munching on a kebab while the game was still going on would have rubbed salt into the wound for North fans. Serious questions continue to be asked of the Roos' direction under Alastair Clarkson in the third year of the four-time premiership coach's reign, with the club benefitting from top picks for the better part of the past six years. In 55 games under Clarkson, North Melbourne is 10-44-1. The club has finished 17th on the ladder in consecutive seasons and currently sits 17th with four games left to go this season. Asked when the pressure on Clarkson genuinely gets turned up, King answered: 'It's a great question; it's hard to answer. I think you have a blind faith in the club that the decision-makers will get it right. 'Words are cheap; it's really hard to just listen to the same conversation over and over and over. It's a tough place to be, there's no doubt about that ... third year in, a penny for his thoughts, is he able to do what he once thought he could do with this group? Are there any doubts there? 'You walk off the ground tonight, you have to doubt your own plan. You've got (Jack) Darling, (Luke) Parker and (Caleb) Daniel to the club to try and stiffen up with a bit of seniority; that doesn't look like it's working as well as it probably should.' North Melbourne fielded eight former top-12 draft picks against Geelong, as King declared the club's issues didn't revolve around an absence of talented players. 'It's not a talent issue; it's a system problem,' he said. 'You can be really brutal and say 'it's coaching', right, but it's also performance of that system. 'Where's the disconnect? Are the players not understanding? Are they not prepared to work hard enough to ensure the system works? I think they're good enough, and I don't think they're that young that they can't compete defensively. That's not really a talent issue. 'I'm the same as all those people in the room and all those watching on, I don't understand the system, because I see so many flaws in it, so many holes in it. 'I don't see it; it's not consistent enough to say 'this is their identifiable brand'. And I think when you see 150 points against, I think even they'd say 'you wouldn't be able to see it tonight'.' Speaking post-game on Saturday night, Clarkson, who lamented glaringly obvious deficiencies in contest, clearance and territory, made it a point to highlight the discrepancy in experience between the sides. 'The Geelong forward line versus the North Melbourne backline, just see the void that sits there in terms of just experience and exposure,' he said. 'And I don't want to make excuses for our players, but it's where we're at, though. 'And we're giving these young players some exposure and opportunity, and in our back end in particular, we're going to be left very, very vulnerable down there against a formidable forward line if we couldn't control the middle of the ground as well as we'd like. And Geelong was too good in that space.' The Roos fielded the second-youngest team in the competition in Round 20, with eight-game key defender Wil Dawson among those in royal blue and white tortured by Cameron and the Cats, who licked their lips each time they entered forward 50. 'Everyone will look at win-loss and all that sort of stuff, and making progress — and even if it is just win-loss, we have made some progress,' said Clarkson in his press conference. 'But we've had three performances that were well below our best, which (were) the Carlton game in Round 6 here, the Hawthorn game about a month ago down in Tassie, and tonight. 'But outside of that, we've been much more competitive than what we were last year, winning more quarters and being in more games at three-quarter-time than we had last year.' But while Clarkson continues to preach that non-linear progress continues to be made at Arden Street, the Roos' list management's choice to trade away the club's first-round pick this year has come back to bite hard. Last November, North Melbourne — banking on a significant uptick this season — traded its future first-round pick to Richmond to secure the No.27 selection, key-position utility Matt Whitlock, who has played just one senior game in his debut season. That future choice is currently slated to wind up as the second overall pick. Injecting young talent isn't as urgent for the Roos as it has been in previous seasons, but given the stagnancy of this season, it's premium draft capital they'd absolutely love to have this off-season. 'I think they thought they would be further progressed, because they did trade that pick away,' Clark said on Fox Footy. 'Would they have traded that No.2 pick away if they thought they were going to finish second-last on the ladder? No way. They thought they would be up the ladder; they thought they would improve, that's why they gave that pick away. 'So, it tells you that they thought they would be better than they're at; that's really clear.' The Roos are currently slated to make their first draft choice this November at No.20, holding a pair of picks at the top of the second round.
West Australian
12 hours 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.
