- In the mix: round 21
- Fletch done for 2014 - maybe for good
JACK Gunston could present as a surprise replacement for Jarryd Roughead this Sunday against Fremantle, with the forward making better progress than expected with his right knee medial ligament sprain.
Initially Hawthorn thought he would miss three weeks but his progress has been good and I'm expecting him to do some light training in the early part of this week.
He may even be up for a fitness test to be selected to play in Perth on Sunday, which would be good news for them off the back of the Roughead suspension.
In other Hawthorn news, Luke Hodge copped a heavy knee to the right side of his rib cage from Mark Jamar and was subbed out of the club's win over Melbourne on Saturday.
I suspect it was more of a precautionary sub and there is a reasonable expectation Hodge will play against the Dockers, although he may need protective padding over his ribs.
Hayden Ballantyne is a critical player to Fremantle and he was very limited on Saturday night against Geelong after getting a heavy contusion (cork ) to the outside of his hip.
After treatment he wasn't able to run at speed or change direction like he normally would, but with further physio during the week you'd expect him to be right to play at home on Sunday.
Nat Fyfe also caused a scare in the Freo camp when he landed awkwardly on his right shoulder - the opposite one to which he's had previous multiple reconstructions.
He has sprained the AC joint and was very sore and limited during the rest of the match but he did play on without strapping, which is a bit of a surprise.
I expect he'll play this week with some strapping and may require some pain relief, but now he has both shoulders to be wary of and it will affect him if he lands awkwardly or cops a heavy bump.
The Dockers are reporting Luke McPharlin's latest calf setback isn't “catastrophic” but it's a worry given the amount of problems he's had with it this season.
He may miss 3-4 weeks at a minimum as he has struggled with calf soreness since round 17 this year and has a history of at least two similar calf problem episodes from 2013.
Mitch Brown finished West Coast's win over Collingwood with heavy strapping on his calf, having sustained a knock and a strain during the game.
While he was able to complete the match, he would have been very sore after the match so I expect he won't be training much in the early part of the week.
If he's too sore – hopefully it is more of a bleed (cork) than a tear - there's a chance he won't play this Saturday against Essendon, but the Eagles will wait until late in the week to test him.
Mark LeCras was a late withdrawal for the Eagles with a calf injury but it was only tightness so I'm expecting him to train and be available to play.
However Xavier Ellis's season is most likely over with an AC joint dislocation on his right side.
At this stage, the Eagles are expecting him to take 3-4 weeks to settle if he doesn't have surgery, but they might consider an operation that would certainly put him out for the year.
Steve Johnson has right foot soreness after the weekend and is being managed early in the week with a moonboot walker.
Traditionally Geelong does not take risks, so Johnson may sit out Friday's game against Carlton if he cannot train fully by Thursday.
Steve Johnson is in doubt for the clash with Carlton. Picture: AFL Media
North Melbourne's Majak Daw was in Epworth Hospital after the VFL game on the weekend. His season is over having dislocated his subtalar joint, which is the major joint underneath his ankle.
It's a very unusual injury in football circles and at this stage the plan is to treat him without surgery and he'll spend 6-8 weeks in a protective walker boot.
He'll hopefully be able to resume pre-season training in October but other examples of this injury from high velocity activities such as snowboarding have seen the patient sometimes develop stiffness and arthritis in the joint.
Lachie Hansen didn't play last week because of a chronic hip condition but they're expecting him to face the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Essendon will get back Jobe Watson after 10 weeks of rehabilitation following the surgery for his thigh tendon.
Initially the expectation was it would be a minimum of 10 weeks so he's coming back at the earliest predictive time.
Dustin Fletcher's season has ended prematurely as he has not recovered from a nasty left long finger dislocation at training three weeks ago.
Fletcher has tried to play with a splint but has extensor tendon damage as well as torn ligaments and will undergo tendon repair and joint reconstruction later this week.
Carlton's Chris Yarran had a setback early on Saturday against Gold Coast when he strained his right calf in the first four minutes of the game and was subbed out.
I'm expecting him to miss at least 2-3 weeks and he will struggle to get back this season.
For Adelaide, we saw a horrible incident involving Tom Lynch where he escaped serious damage to his neck and spine when he collided front on with the Brisbane Lions' Justin Clarke.
He was cleared of any major injury at hospital and flew home with his teammates but he felt pins and needles in his hands, which indicated how close he was to serious spinal cord damage.
He has had further positive scans in Adelaide but will be closely monitored all week and remains in considerable doubt for this weekend.
Unfortunately for Andy Otten he will have a traditional knee reconstruction on his right knee ACL rupture this week and is facing 12 months out of the game.
North Melbourne's Majak Daw was in Epworth Hospital after the VFL game on the weekend. His season is over having dislocated his subtalar joint, which is the major joint underneath his ankle.
It's a very unusual injury in football circles and at this stage the plan is to treat him without surgery and he'll spend 6-8 weeks in a protective walker boot.
He'll hopefully be able to resume pre-season training in October but other examples of this injury from high velocity activities such as snowboarding have seen the patient sometimes develop stiffness and arthritis in the joint.
Lachie Hansen didn't play last week because of a chronic hip condition but they're expecting him to face the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Essendon will get back Jobe Watson after 10 weeks of rehabilitation following the surgery for his thigh tendon.
Initially the expectation was it would be a minimum of 10 weeks so he's coming back at the earliest predictive time.
Dustin Fletcher's season has ended prematurely as he has not recovered from a nasty left long finger dislocation at training three weeks ago.
Fletcher has tried to play with a splint but has extensor tendon damage as well as torn ligaments and will undergo tendon repair and joint reconstruction later this week.
Carlton's Chris Yarran had a setback early on Saturday against Gold Coast when he strained his right calf in the first four minutes of the game and was subbed out.
I'm expecting him to miss at least 2-3 weeks and he will struggle to get back this season.
For Adelaide, we saw a horrible incident involving Tom Lynch where he escaped serious damage to his neck and spine when he collided front on with the Brisbane Lions' Justin Clarke.
He was cleared of any major injury at hospital and flew home with his teammates but he felt pins and needles in his hands, which indicated how close he was to serious spinal cord damage.
He has had further positive scans in Adelaide but will be closely monitored all week and remains in considerable doubt for this weekend.
Unfortunately for Andy Otten he will have a traditional knee reconstruction on his right knee ACL rupture this week and is facing 12 months out of the game.
