GREATER Western Sydney will sweat on the fitness of its resident Lance Franklin stopper and co-captain Phil Davis for Saturday night's meeting with Sydney.
Davis went over on his left ankle late in the loss to Fremantle and faces scans to determine if he will face any time on the sidelines.
Giants coach Leon Cameron said Davis had "made some considerable ground" in the past few days but the club wouldn't risk him if there was danger of more serious injury.
"We'll give him every chance to prove himself," Cameron told AFL 360 on Monday night.
Phil Davis injured himself in a marking contest late in fourth quarter of #AFLGiantsFreo. pic.twitter.com/vjuIaYuoKT
— AFL (@AFL) April 20, 2019
"When he came off, I thought, 'Here we go, we've got another big issue here'. He was pretty sore on Sunday, but today [Monday] he made some considerable ground. We can't take any chances, if he's right, we'll no doubt want to play him."
It was a dirty day for Davis, who had his nose broken early in the clash.
Franklin's success against GWS has had a strong correlation with the result. The Giants are 5-1 when keeping Franklin to three goals or fewer while the Swans are a perfect 5-0 when the superstar boots four or more.
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Melbourne co-captain Jack Viney went in for scans after the Dees' disappointing loss to St Kilda last Saturday but was cleared of any serious damage to a hand.
However, miserly defender Neville Jetta aggravated the left knee he had strapped coming into the contest and has been ruled out for up to 10 weeks, including the Anzac Day Eve outing against Richmond.
The Tigers will have a worry of their own – Daniel Rioli was hampered by a corked left thigh in the opening term, although he managed to play out the win over Sydney.
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Emerging Carlton superstar Charlie Curnow will have knee bone bruising monitored throughout the week as the Blues look ahead to Hawthorn on Sunday afternoon.
Hawks ruckman Ben McEvoy finished Monday's loss to Geelong on the bench with an apparent hip flexor injury.
Captain Ben Stratton was a late withdrawal with concussion after failing to recover in time from his head knock the previous week.
Young Geelong star Brandan Parfitt was sidelined with a minor quad strain in the second term of the Cats' important win.
Reigning premiers West Coast have a massive grievance with the hard surface at Optus Stadium after yet another lower leg injury, with backman Tom Barrass looking at a long stint on the sidelines with a stress-related foot issue.
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Willie Rioli (foot), Elliot Yeo and Jamie Cripps (both toe surgery) are among the other Eagles to have faced similar problems.
Brisbane will likely need a couple of replacements as it aims to return to the winners' list against intrastate rival Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon at Metricon Stadium.
Gun backman Harris Andrews and hard nut Rhys Mathieson are nursing left hamstring concerns and look set to miss the Suns clash.
Harris Andrews' night is over after hurting his left hamstring. #AFLLionsPies pic.twitter.com/jUvwJl8vSI
— AFL (@AFL) April 18, 2019
Collingwood's James Aish was concussed against the Lions after copping an accidental knee to the back of his head when Lion Lincoln McCarthy flew for a mark, while Brody Mihocek suffered a right leg corkie.
James Aish will take no further part in tonight's match due to concussion symptoms following this contest in the second quarter.#AFLLionsPies pic.twitter.com/nguuh8aQP9
— AFL (@AFL) April 18, 2019
It's an injury Aish is accustomed to, having suffered two in 2017, the second of which occurred in a worryingly innocuous incident.
Essendon will hope to have Anzac Day specialist David Zaharakis fit when it faces Collingwood on Thursday, after an infection to a deep knee gash kept him out of the Good Friday victory over North Melbourne.
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Zaharakis won the Anzac Medal in 2013 as best-on-ground and thrilled Bombers fans when he slotted a late goal four years prior to give his side a narrow win in just his fourth match.
There was a sour note when Adelaide posted a win in Eddie Betts' 300th match, as Wayne Milera was sidelined by a left shoulder concern after a bruising collision with Pearce Hanley.
Wayne Milera will take no further part in the match after this contest with Pearce Hanley.#AFLCrowsSuns pic.twitter.com/FrOkX5rwCH
— AFL (@AFL) April 21, 2019
In other injury news:
- Port Adelaide duo Sam Powell-Pepper (left calf) and Connor Rozee (right leg) both had stints on the bench in the win over West Coast
- Electric Essendon forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti played out the game and is expected to be fine after copping a corked thigh early against the Roos, while midfielder Devon Smith should be right to return from a chronic knee problem
- Bombers ruckman Zac Clarke was a late withdrawal with a corked calf
- Giants defender Adam Kennedy finished the game after a thigh corkie in the first half
- Fremantle forward Cam McCarthy was a late withdrawal as he battled an illness while fellow tall Brennan Cox had a left leg issue, although it didn't appear to be serious
- St Kilda hard nut Ben Long overcame a left thigh knock and returned to the field
- Sydney onballer Zak Jones had a hip treated in the opening half, but played out the match
- Gold Coast speedster Jordan Murdoch sported a concern with a hand but came back on
- Hawthorn key back David Mirra left the field with a left knee complaint, but returned to the field
-with Sarah Black