{"id":506665,"date":"2026-02-27T03:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T03:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506665\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T03:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T03:01:17","slug":"star-defender-veteran-midfielder-to-miss-eagles-final-pre-season-clash-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506665\/","title":{"rendered":"Star defender, veteran midfielder to miss Eagles final pre-season clash – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

The West Coast Eagles<\/a> have confirmed defender Reuben Ginbey<\/a> and midfielder Tim Kelly<\/a> will miss Sunday’s Community Series fixture against Port Adelaide after the pair sustained injuries during the week.<\/p>\n

While both issues are said to be minor, the club is focusing on having the pair fully fit for their Round 1 clash against Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

Eagles High Performance Manager Phil Merriman confirmed Ginbey is battling an inflamed joint in his toe, which has seen him placed on a modified program, while Tim Kelly<\/a> will be withheld due to hamstring tightness.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment we’re letting it settle, but the plan is to build Ginbey up for Round 1,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTim developed some hamstring tightness during training on Wednesday, and we have made the decision to hold him out from playing this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are confident he will be available for our Round 1 game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inconsistent form paired with a number of injuries saw Kelly miss a handful of matches during West Coast’s dismal 2025 season, with the 31-year-old averaging career-low stats across the board.<\/p>\n

Ginbey, meanwhile, hasn’t missed an AFL<\/a> game in the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

\"EveryWest Coast Eagle Reuben Ginbey (Photo by Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images via AFL Photos)<\/p>\n

However, in positive news, the Eagles anticipate several important players will be available to be named for their Round 1 clash, or as soon as this weekend, including defender Brady Hough<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hough suffered an ankle injury in late January at training, which has seen him sidelined since. However, Merriman revealed that he could return as early as this weekend’s Community Series contest against Port Adelaide, should he pass a fitness test.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrady has progressed really positively, and we’re excited to hopefully see him back out there,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s recovered well and will be a test to play this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 191cm speedster has missed just one game across the past two seasons, establishing himself as an important part of the backline with his ability to lockdown, and he was exposed to midfield minutes in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"PERTH,PERTH, AUSTRALIA – JULY 14: Brady Hough and Harley Reid of the Eagles look on during the round 18 AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Lions at Optus Stadium, on July 14, 2024, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Recently appointed co-captain Liam Baker<\/a> will also be made available for selection against the Power after being managed following AFL Origin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fellow co-captain Liam Duggan<\/a> will miss this weekend, with Merriman noting his concussion history as the reason for the club’s cautious approach, but is set to be available next month.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Jack Graham<\/a> also will be in the mix for Round 1 selection, with him moving back into main training this week as his rehab from a hamstring injury progresses.<\/p>\n

“We are taking a more conservative route with Liam, given his history with concussion,” Merriman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s building steadily and is on track for the Round 1 match.<\/p>\n

\u201cJack is working through the gears nicely and is a strong chance to be available for Round 1.”<\/p>\n

\"AFLPERTH, AUSTRALIA – MAY 27: Liam Duggan of the Eagles looks dejected after a loss during the 2023 AFL Round 11 match between the West Coast Eagles and the Essendon Bombers at Optus Stadium on May 27, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Top recruit Brandon Starcevich<\/a>, who missed out on representing Western Australia alongside Baker in AFL Origin<\/a> due to a calf injury, is making positive progress in his rehab, but Merriman could not confirm an expected return date.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrandon is continuing to build his reconditioning loads and is gradually moving back into the football program,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n

The Eagles will play the Power at Mineral Resources Park this Sunday, with first bounce scheduled for 3:10pm (AWST).<\/p>\n

Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Hanger 2026 AFL Season Guide!<\/a> Packed with 150+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 AFL Season Guide<\/a> is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The West Coast Eagles have confirmed defender Reuben Ginbey and midfielder Tim Kelly will miss Sunday’s Community Series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-506665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}