Dream Team Medical Room: Round 18

There are 8 points left in the DT home and away season, so the next two games will be crucial in determining the layout of the final top 8. The good thing is that after a chaotic year to date it seems as though most teams (DT wise) are nearing full strength.

This year has been particularly bad in terms of player injury analysis by not the DT coaches, rather it has been the AFL club medicos that seem to off the mark. The most recent example of this is one Beau Waters. After supposedly having surgery on his knee to clear out a fragment of injured meniscus, he was back and playing one week later. Now unless West Coast has a magician on their staff there’s something definitely wrong/dodgy with this situation. Cast your memory back to Heath Scotland and his 3-4 week calf injury that only turned out to be one week. And then there’s the worst of all Scott Pendlebury and his one week out with a cracked Tibia? In all honesty any one even remotely clued into medicine/rehab etc. will know that one week is a joke! Now there are others (Didak, Zaharakis, etc.) that have succumbed to the same fate as the above mentioned but what can we do? One thing is clear though, the AFL clubs / medico’s clearly don’t understand that these type of allegation can ruin a DT season.

Ok, now back to looking at the week at hand. This week the injury clouds will be circling Geelong star Steve Johnson. After getting off to a superb start Stevie j was subbed after tweaking his groin. Most probably just a tightness related precautionary move.  Geelong will not be looking at risking anything here. However in saying so, Geelong will need all their guns to be blazing if they hope to knock of Adelaide this weekend. Adelaide will be without Kurt Tippet after yet another concussion, but they will regain fellow tall Tex Walker following his 3 match suspension. Jimmy Bartel also returns from suspension for Geelong for what promises to be a cracker of a game. Tom Rockliff dislocated his finger but played-on, on the weekend. No cause for alarm here as he should be right to play. Team mate Josh Drummond on the other hand will be having scan to assess the extent of damage he sustained after hyper-extending his knee. From the mechanism of injury hopefully it’s just bruising to the bone and he is clear of any structural damage. Mitch Robinson was a late omission last week with a calf problem. All reports indicate that he should be right for this weekend as long as he passes a fitness test. Carlton will be sweating on the availability of Mathew Kruezer as he struggle to get his hip right after injuring it in their round 15 win against Collingwood. Common in taller athletes hip injuries can often be problematic long term, so optimal management will be the key here by the Carlton medical staff. Fellow ruckman (struck by the curse again) Shane Mumford can-not get a break this year. After overcoming ongoing back troubles Mummy has now jarred his knee sustaining bone damage. Timeframe is unclear here so wait until swans release more news.  Essendon’s Stewart Cameri is in doubt with concurrent calf and hamstring issues. After two weeks out with suspension soft tissue injuries yet again haunt the Essendon football club. Port Adelaide’s Jasper Pittard spent most of last weekend in hospital after a sickening collision resulted in a broken rib and a collapsed lung. 4 weeks minimum out and let’s hope he recovers well.

A few big ins / potential big in this week include Luke Shuey (suspension), Danny Stanley (suspension), Greg Broughton, Alan Didak, and Nathan Fyfe. From the injured players Fyfe is the most likely starter after having had a second shoulder reconstruction earlier this year. Fyfe has been training the house down so expect him to make an immediate impact if named. Hawthorn stars Luke Hodge and Lance Franklin may have to wait one more week, however Hodge may be a surprise inclusion.

And that rounds it up. The injury list below is from afl.com.au and the Herald Sun. Some time frames may differ slightly to official individual club releases and people with inside knowledge. So do some research before pulling the trigger?

Remember for all your Perth Physiotherapy needs : Contact Jakub at Mount Pleasant Physiotherapy on (08) 9315 3855 or email Jakub@mtpp.com.au.

Bookings with Jakub

ADELAIDE
Ricky Henderson (ankle) 5-6 weeks
Brodie Martin (hamstring) TBC
Shaun McKernan (jaw) 1 week
Sam Shaw, eye, TBC
Kurt Tippett, concussion, test

BRISBANE
Matthew Leuenberger (achilles) indefinite
Brent Staker (knee) season
Bryce Retzlaff (knee) season
Ash McGrath (hamstring) season
Mitch Golby (foot) 2 weeks
Josh Drummond (knee) TBA
Tom Rockliff (finger) TBA

CARLTON
Kade Simpson (jaw) 2 weeks
Andrew Walker (calf) 2 weeks
Jeremy Laidler (knee) season
Shaun Hampson (knee) season
Sam Rowe (testicular cancer) indefinite

COLLINGWOOD
Marley Williams (shoulder) season
Ben Johnson (shoulder) Indefinite
Andrew Krakouer (knee) Indefinite
Brent Macaffer (knee) Indefinite
Josh Thomas (foot) Indefinite
Luke Ball (knee) season
Lachie Keeffe (knee) season

ESSENDON
Angus Monfries (hamstring) 1 week
Paddy Ryder (calf) 2 week
Michael Hurley (hamstring) 2 weeks
David Zaharakis (quad) 3 weeks
Brent Prismall (knee/hamstring) indefinite

FREMANTLE
Zac Dawson (knee) test
Nathan Fyfe (shoulder) test
Josh Mellington (hamstring) test
Aaron Sandilands (toe) 5 weeks
Hayden Crozier (illness) TBA
Anthony Morabito (knee) season
Chris Mayne (calf) test
Greg Broughton (back) test

GEELONG
Allen Christensen (shoulder) TBA
Josh Cowan (achilles) indefinite
Daniel Menzel (knee) season
Travis Varcoe (foot) indefinite
Nathan Vardy (hip) indefinite
David Wojcinski (hamstring) test
James Podsiadly (ankle) test

GOLD COAST
Joel Wilkinson (ankle) 2-4 weeks
Nathan Bock (leg) season
Daniel Gorringe (achilles) indefinite
Seb Tape (knee) season
Rory Thompson (ankle) season
Jaeger O’Meara (groin) season
Alex Sexton (hip) Season

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
Jeremy Cameron (back) test
Stephen Coniglio (back) test
Adam Kennedy (illness) TBA
Setanta O’hAilpin (knee) season
Dylan Shiel (foot) 1 week
Liam Sumner (foot) 3 weeks

HAWTHORN
Xavier Ellis (knee) test
Amos Frank (calf) 2-3 weeks
Lance Franklin (hamstring) 2 weeks
Sam Grimley (finger) 5-6 weeks
Will Langford (shoulder) 1 week
Derick Wanganeen (hamstring) 1 week
Michael Osborne (knee) season
Alex Woodward (knee) season
Andrew Boseley (shoulder) season

MELBOURNE
Clint Bartram (knee) season
Jamie Bennell (knee) season
Mitch Clark (foot) season
Aaron Davey (foot) season
Max Gawn (knee) season
Mark Jamar (calf) 3-4 weeks
Liam Jurrah (ankle) 2 weeks
Kelvin Lawrence (calf) 1 week
James Sellar (thigh) test
Jai Sheahan (ankle) 2 weeks
Rory Taggert (back) indefinite
Luke Tapscott (groin) test
Josh Tynan (concussion) test
Jack Watts (ankle) test

NORTH MELBOURNE
Hamish McIntosh (knee) 1-2 weeks

PORT ADELAIDE
Robbie Gray (knee) season
Hamish Hartlett (hamstring) test
Jay Schulz (abdomen) 2-3 weeks
John Butcher (hip) 1-2 weeks
Jacob Surjan (hip) test
Brett Renouf (knee) TBA
David Rodan (hamstring) 1 week
Jasper Pittard (ribs) 4 weeks
Cameron O’Shea (foot) 5-6 weeks

RICHMOND
Nathan Foley (heel) season
Brad Helbig (foot) available
Jake King (knee) 3 weeks
Dylan Grimes (hamstring) indefinite
Ty Vickery (shoulder) season
Jake Batchelor (bruising) 2 weeks

ST KILDA
Warrick Andreoli (shoulder) 3-5 weeks
Jason Blake (ankle) 4-5 weeks
Jack Newnes (soreness) test
Rhys Stanley (hamstring) 4-5 weeks
Darren Minchington (hip) season

SYDNEY
Gary Rohan (leg) season
Mark Seaby (calf) test
Shane Mumford (knee) TBA

WEST COAST
Andrew Embley (shoulder) test
Josh Kennedy (ankle) 5 weeks
Mark LeCras (knee) season
Mark Nicoski (hamstring) season
Josh Hill (hamstring) test

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Adam Cooney (knee soreness) test
Dylan Addison (jaw) 1 week
Easton Wood (hamstring) 2 weeks
Lukas Markovic (hamstring) 2 weeks
Shaun Higgins (hamstring) 3 weeks
Jack Redpath (broken arm) season
Dale Morris (leg) indefinite
James Mulligan (achilles) season