There was one sour note to Carlton’s impressive match simulation, while the race for list spots at Port Adelaide is on.

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DOCKERS SETTLE ON SSP CALL

Fremantle has signed small forward Chris Scerri as a rookie via the SSP, reports AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.

The Dockers had already signed premiership Magpie Mason Cox at the start of the SSP, but had also invited Scerri and Murray Bushrangers ruck Zac Harding to train over the summer with another list spot available.

Scerri quickly became the favourite to land the gig after Harding returned to Victoria.

Twomey reported on X on Wednesday that Scerri would be on Fremantle’s list in 2026.

Scerri had only just signed with Richmond’s VFL side before his train-on invite to Cockburn.

A small forward notable speed and dash with ball in hand. Scerri played 18 VFL games for the Northern Bullants in 2025.

Ex-Bullants forward Christopher Scerri has landed at Fremantle. Picture: Rob Lawson/AFL PhotosSource: News Corp Australia

SUNS CALL ON FORMER PLAYERS

Gold Coast has been given approval to call upon two former player, should they be needed to play minutes against St Kilda in Thursday night’s match sim.

The Suns on Wednesday named a 34-man squad on the club’s website to face the Saints at People First Stadium.

But AFL Media’s Riley Beveridge reported both David Swallow and Alex Sexton had also been included after the Suns asked for approval to name them.

Swallow (retired) and Sexton (delisted) aren’t on the Suns’ AFL list for 2025, but have remained with the club in a coaching capacity, while they’re also set to play for the club’s VFL side in 2026.

But with five players playing in last weekend’s AFL Origin clash — Noah Anderson (Victoria) and Wil Powell (WA) will play, but all of Sam Collins (Victoria), Ben King (Victoria) and Matthew Rowell (Victoria) will miss — and a determination from the Suns to manage player minutes over the coming weeks, Swallow and Sexton could feature against St Kilda.

Charlie Ballard (knee), Jy Farrar (knee), Jai Murray (fibula), Beau Addinsall (hamstring), Elliott Himmelberg (knee), Jake Rogers (hamstring), Max Knobel (ankle), Caleb Lewis (back) all won’t play.

RANKINE RETURN DELAYED

Adelaide star Izak Rankine has been ruled out of the Crows’ two pre-season practice matches after a fresh injury setback.

The Crows on Thursday confirmed Rankine had sufferied a low-grade hamstring strain at training on Wednesday, which will sideline him for this week’s match simulation against Port Adelaide and next week’s AAMI Community Series clash against Fremantle.

“Thankfully Izak’s strain is only minor, but we won’t risk playing him in our upcoming pre-season matches,” Crows high performance boss Ian McKeown said.

With Rankine suspended for the Crows’ Round 1 clash against Collingwood, it means Rankine is set to be available for Round 2 selection without playing a competitive match since August last year.

Defender Mitch Hinge (back) and midfielder Isaac Cumming (hamstring) won’t face Port Adelaide in match simulation, but will be assessed ahead of the clash against the Dockers. There’s optimism, though, that first-round draftee Sid Draper will be fit to face the Dockers after an injury-interrupted season due to groin soreness.

The Crows will be without Mark Keane (broken leg) and Daniel Curtin (dislocated kneecap) for months.

BIG PORT ROOKIE CALLS LOOM AMID THIRD VACANCY

Port Adelaide has opened up a third player vacancy after moving ruck Ivan Soldo to the inactive list.

Soldo earlier this month was ruled out for the entire 2026 season after suffering an ACL rupture during a training drill.

Port on Thursday confirmed Soldo had been moved to the inactive list for 2026 after undergoing successful surgery to repair his ACL.

It leaves four players with less than a fortnight to convince key Power officials to hand them AFL rookie lifelines before the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) closes on Monday March 2.

Ivan Soldo. Picture: Dean MartinSource: News Corp Australia

The Power are being tipped to fill two spots before the deadline and keep one open for the mid-season draft.

Ex-Collingwood and North Melbourne player Jaidyn Stephenson has been training at the club since last year. The 27-year-old’s potential lifeline comes after retiring at the end of 2024 with a year remaining on his Kangaroos contract, before a year playing local football for Ferntree Gully.

Former Geelong rookie Ted Clohesy joined Port Adelaide as a train-on in late March. Clohesy, who played 12 AFL games in his three seasons at Geelong, had initially signed with Woodville-West Torrens for the 2026 SANFL season.

The two other train-on players are mature-age East Fremantle forward Mitch Zadow and Norwood product Balyn O’Brien.

North Adelaide 203cm ruck Alex Van Wyk has also been training at Alberton, but could only be picked up by an AFL club via the mid-season draft as he’s not eligible for this year’s SSP.

Soldo, who’s played nine of his 66 AFL games for Port since crossing from Richmond at the end of 2023, is out of contract at the end of the season.

BLUES BACK GUN MID FOR PROMPT RECOVERY AFTER LATEST SETBACK

Carlton is backing midfielder Adam Cerra to make a swift recovery, no matter the severity of his latest hamstring setback.

The Blues’ impressive match simulation hit-out against Brisbane on Wednesday night was soured by a fresh injury concern to Cerra, who pulled up sore during the second half due to a hamstring injury and finished the game on the bench.

It puts Cerra in doubt for the Blues’ Opening Round clash against Sydney, which is now just a fortnight away.

Blues assistant coach Josh Fraser said Cerra would undergo scans soon, with AFL Media reporting the club would wait until returning to Melbourne for those scans.

“Scans in the coming days just to assess the severity of his hamstring. We won’t know much more until then, but it appears it’s a hamstring injury,” Fraser told reporters.

“Someone who’s been through it before with his professionalism, we know he’ll be back as quick as he can.”

Blues come back to beat Lions | 01:10

Cerra has battled hamstring issues during his time at Carlton, most notably in 2024 when at one stage he had suffered five injuries in 12 months. But he played 19 matches last year to finish third in Carlton’s best and fairest count.

Cerra’s injury was the sole sour note on a promising night for the Blues, who recorded a 15-point win over the Lions.

After trailing by five points at three-quarter-time, the Blues jagged four goals to the Lions’ one in the final term to prevail at Springfield’s Brighton Homes Arena, with exciting 2024 draftee Jagga Smith a standout.

Fraser said he was pleased the Blues found a rhythm after a “sluggish” start.

“We walk away with some really good passages of play offensively and, at times, we defended the ground really well,” he said.

“We know we’ve got a lot to work on still, but for a first hit-out it was a pleasing result.”

Recruits Ben Ainsworth and Will Hayward combined for six majors in a new-look attack set to give Blues fans hope in the post-Charlie Curnow era.

Byrne strikes three to tame Lions | 00:36

Fraser said both players added to the Blues’ new “dynamic” front half.

“Both are terrific players,” Fraser said. “They both bring different things and different skillsets to the side. They’re multi-faceted, if you like.

“They’ve got huge workrate, both pretty good in the air, both apply pressure at ground level.

“But I think most importantly they’re both great teammates. They’re great for players around them and they’ve added to the culture of the club. They’ve been great additions.”

Ainsworth and Hayward were two of nine fresh faces that played for the Blues on Wednesday night.

“To introduce all those new players and to see the synergy they played with and how connected they were in really important moments where sometimes the game wasn’t going our way … for a group of guys that haven’t played footy together to be able to stay present and stay connected was really pleasing,” Fraser said.

“That’s a credit to lots of things around the club and the work those guys have all put in over summer and the way we’ve gone about it, there’s some good evidence tonight.”