{"id":531114,"date":"2026-03-10T13:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531114\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:29:12","slug":"st-kilda-ruck-downed-collingwood-makes-call-on-captain-a-lions-debut-afl-injury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531114\/","title":{"rendered":"St Kilda ruck downed, Collingwood makes call on captain, a Lions debut: AFL injury news"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

All 18 clubs will feature across Round 1. But which players will not?<\/p>\n

There’s multiple injury concerns coming inside Victoria, while Gold Coast’s list is set to get stronger in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Here’s all the latest injury news from across the\u00a0AFL<\/a>…<\/p>\n

Freo’s Frederick knocked to the boundary<\/p>\n

Dockers forward Michael Frederick<\/a> will miss at least the next four weeks after he injured his ankle at training.<\/p>\n

Brennan Cox<\/a> will need another week to overcome his calf issue, but will miss the Geelong game.<\/p>\n

Captain Alex Pearce<\/a> will need to get through training to take on the Cats, while Sam Switkowski<\/a> has passed concussion protocols.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Hayden Young<\/a> wasn’t named on the club’s injury list, and is expected to pull on the boots despite doubt he’ll be fit.<\/p>\n

St Kilda ruck downed<\/p>\n

Rowan Marshall<\/a> has entered concussion protocols after he received a head knock in the loss to Collingwood.<\/p>\n

Marshall came from the ground just before three-quarter time. He’ll miss Sunday’s clash against Maw Gawn and Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Hunter Clark<\/a> and Paddy Dow<\/a> suffered injuries in the VFL practice match over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Clark will be sidelined with a low-grade adductor injury, while Dow will deload knee swelling.<\/p>\n

Pies boost<\/p>\n

Collingwood is expecting captain Darcy Moore<\/a> to be available for selection against Adelaide on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Moore missed Opening Round due to a calf issue, but has made progress that puts him in the frame to take on the Crows.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Howe<\/a> will need another week and will be given until after the Pies’ Round 2 bye.<\/p>\n

Draper to debut for Lions<\/p>\n

Sam Draper<\/a> is all but confirmed to make his debut against Sydney after he was cleared of a foot injury.<\/p>\n

Tom Doedee<\/a> is nearing a return after being sidelined with a knee and wrist injury.<\/p>\n

Brisbane will miss Hugh McClugagge for the Round 1 clash against Sydney.<\/p>\n

McCluggage suffered a low-grade calf strain in the loss to the Western Bulldogs<\/a>. He is expected to return after the club’s Round 2 bye.<\/p>\n

It comes as Zac Bailey’s one-match suspension was accepted by the Lions.<\/p>\n

Mckercher to be tested<\/p>\n

Colby McKercher<\/a> is in the frame to face Port Adelaide.<\/p>\n

“Colby was at the end stage of his recovery last week. He was building back in with main group training and letting that finger regain full function,\u201d North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said.<\/p>\n

“He’s also had some really good conditioning over the past three weeks and is in contention to play this week providing he gets through training well.”<\/p>\n

Riley Hardeman<\/a> will press his case after he hurt his ankle last month against Melbourne.<\/p>\n

George Wardlaw<\/a> is one week away from potentially playing after a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Recruit Charlie Spargo<\/a> entered concussion protocols and will miss at least this week.<\/p>\n

Bomber pushing for Round 1<\/p>\n

Isaac Kako<\/a> is still in with a shot of playing Hawthorn on Friday as he recovers from a hamstring strain.<\/p>\n

The Bombers named three debutants for their Round 1 clash, with Dyson Sharp<\/a>, Max Kondogiannis<\/a> and Huss El Achkar to debut.<\/p>\n

A Blue day<\/p>\n

Carlton speedster Adam Saad<\/a> will miss at least the next three weeks with a hamstring injury, while Francis Evans<\/a> will be given an extra fortnight after he hurt his knee.<\/p>\n

Nick Haynes<\/a> has proved his fitness, and will feature in the VFL.<\/p>\n

Mackenzie moves towards selection<\/p>\n

Hawthorn midfielder Cameron Mackenzie<\/a> will need to exit concussion protocols to be available for Friday’s game.<\/p>\n

“Recovered really well, back into some training today. Had a good running session over the weekend and he’s moved through the concussion protocols. We’ll go through his final tick-off on Wednesday, but we expect him to be available,” Hawthorn High Performance Manager Peter Burge said.<\/p>\n

Henry Hustwaite<\/a> will miss at least the next fortnight with an ankle injury he copped in the VFL over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Dogs duo concussed<\/p>\n

Arthur Jones<\/a> and Laitham Vandermeer<\/a> have entered concussion protocols, and will be sidelined for at least Round 1.<\/p>\n

Ryler Sanders is expected to exit the protocols after a knock he sustained in the pre-season, while Adam Treloar<\/a> (calf) and Ryan Gardner<\/a> (adductor) will need to get through the week to be ticked off.<\/p>\n

Crow expected to face Pies<\/p>\n

Adelaide will miss Mitch Hinge for at least a month with a back injury.<\/p>\n

Hinge completed his first week of rehab last week but will need a fair chunk of time to be ticked off.<\/p>\n

Key forward Riley Thilthorpe<\/a> is set to face Collingwood on Saturday as he manages back soreness from the pre-season.<\/p>\n

Dees bolstered<\/p>\n

Bayley Fritsch<\/a>, Brody Mihocek<\/a> and Jai Culley<\/a> are tipped to be available for Sunday’s games.<\/p>\n

Mihocek will need to pass concussion protocols, while Fritsch (hand) and Culley (arm) have overcome their respective injuries.<\/p>\n

Jack Henderson<\/a> and Andy Moniz-Wakefield<\/a> are also available after spending the summer in the rehab group.<\/p>\n

Suns pair pushing for selection<\/p>\n

Charlie Ballard<\/a> returned to the field for the first time in a year after he tore his ACL.<\/p>\n

Ballard featured in the VFL, and got through unscathed on managed minutes.<\/p>\n

Jake Rogers<\/a> also looked comfortable in the clash as he returns from a hamstring injury in the pre-season.<\/p>\n

Matt Rowell<\/a> will not be available until after the Round 3 bye.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Exclusive chat with Suns VFL coach about Ballard, Ugle-Hagan and more<\/a><\/p>\n

Eagle recruit to miss<\/p>\n

West Coast will not unveil recruit Brandon Starcevich<\/a> in Round 1 against Gold Coast as he continues to recover from a calf injury.<\/p>\n

Starcevich missed the final pre-season clash and hasn’t recovered in time to don his new colours.<\/p>\n

Co-captain Liam Duggan<\/a> is tipped to play the Suns after exiting concussion protocols.<\/p>\n

Tiger optimism over veterans<\/p>\n

Noah Balta<\/a> will be available to take on Harry McKay<\/a> on Thursday night, while Nick Vlastuin<\/a> will be considered.<\/p>\n

Balta overcame a hamstring complaint in recent weeks, as Vlastuin’s troublesome ankle has plagued him since late last year.<\/p>\n

“Nick got through everything he needed to get through at training today,” High Performance Manager Ben\u00a0Serpell said.<\/p>\n

“But he will be a topic of conversation at the selection table a bit later today because he has missed a whole lot of training over the last little while.”<\/p>\n

Midfielder Dion Prestia<\/a> has been ruled out of Round 1, but will be a watch for the following week.<\/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":"All 18 clubs will feature across Round 1. But which players will not? There’s multiple injury concerns coming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-531114","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\/531114","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=531114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}