St Kilda veteran Jack Macrae will remain on the outer for a second-straight week after the Saints decided for an unchanged side to face Port Adelaide. <\/p>\n
Macrae was managed ahead of St Kilda\u2019s clash with Essendon, but a resounding victory has Ross Lyon backing in his 23. <\/p>\n
It means Macrae, who is not listed as an emergency, will likely line up for the VFL side against Werribee. <\/p>\n
The 31 year old departed the Western Bulldogs at the end of 2024 after a stint for Footscray and a run as the substitute left him seeking greener pastures. <\/p>\n
But a strong performance in St Kilda\u2019s midfield from Mattaes Phillipou has Macrae without a place in the senior side. <\/p>\n
Kane Farrell returns to the Power\u2019s side to take on St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Farrell has missed the past month because of a groin concern but has trained fully over the past fortnight and has proven his fitness for a comeback.<\/p>\n
He comes into the side at the expense of Brandon Zerk-Thatcher with the key defender dropped after two games in the side.<\/p>\n
It means the Power will go smaller in defence against the Saints with Miles Bergman and Lachie Jones set to be tasked with playing taller.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Collingwood has recalled games record holder Scott Pendlebury to face North Melbourne on Friday night. <\/p>\n
Pendlebury was a late withdrawal last week with a calf complaint, but he comes into the side as forecasted by coach Craig McRae. <\/p>\n
Harvey Harrison makes way for the legendary Magpie. <\/p>\n
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has swung the axe, making four changes for the Friday night game. <\/p>\n
George Wardlaw will miss a month of footy after a hamstring injury, but Wil Dawson, Josh Goater and Jacob Konstanty are unforced changes. <\/p>\n
Riley Hardeman and Paul Curtis loom as big inclusions, while Zac Banch and Matt Whitlock have been recalled. <\/p>\n
Adelaide has \u201cmanaged\u201d mid-season draftee Hugo Hall-Kahan despite an impressive start to his career as a Crow, as two stars return to the side to take on Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old has played every game for the Crows since he made his debut just days after he was selected in the mid-season draft in May.<\/p>\n
But despite looking at home in the Crows senior side, and having 18 disposals in their last outing against West Coast, Hall-Kahan has made way along with Billy Dowling for stars Wayne Milera and Riley Thilthorpe.<\/p>\n
Crows assistant coach Scott Burns said on FIVEAA that it was about managing Hall-Kahan given the rigours of AFL footy.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s such a hard competition where some boys do need a little bit of a freshen up at times,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust to make sure that they\u2019re up and going in the last month of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milera comes back into the side after missing the last two matches with a minor hamstring strain, while Thilthorpe was a late out for the win over West Coast because of illness.<\/p>\n
Hawthorn will unveil its seventh debutant of the season with big-bodied midfielder Ollie Greeves set to take on Carlton at the MCG on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
However, superstar forward Nick Watson ruled out for a second straight week.<\/p>\n
Greeves, 19, has been selected for the Hawks\u2019 senior side following some strong VFL performances this year, averaging 21 disposals from his 13 games with Box Hill, including a 34-possession game against Gold Coast last month.<\/p>\n
Incredibly, Hawthorn did not have an AFL debutant last season – the first time in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Greeves\u2019 inclusion against the Blues means he joins Noah Mraz, Matt Hill, Will McCabe, Jack Dalton, Bodie Ryan and Cameron Nairn as debutants this season.<\/p>\n
Mraz and Hill made impressive debuts in last week\u2019s loss to Melbourne, and the Hawks are confident Greeves will follow suit.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, he was one of the draft\u2019s biggest sliders last year, missing out in the national draft after originally being touted as a possible first-rounder.<\/p>\n
But the Hawks were delighted to take the Eastern Ranges\/Vermont mid-forward with pick 12 in last year\u2019s rookie draft, and he has impressed the coaches with his work ethic and willingness to learn since walking into the club.<\/p>\n
Box Hill Hawks coach David Mirra said of Greeves\u2019 game last week: \u201cHe was great playing as an inside mid and he was very good at winning the ball and taking territory from stoppage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also went forward in the last quarter and looked really dangerous when isolated one versus one.\u201d <\/p>\n
He is the great nephew of Geelong great \u2018Carji\u2019 Greeves, the winner of the first Brownlow Medal.<\/p>\n
It comes as coach Sam Mitchell revealed midfielder Conor Nash could miss the rest of the season with his \u201ccomplicated\u201d neck issue.<\/p>\n
Nash recently saw a Sydney surgeon to better understand the nerve issue that has weakened the strength and power in one arm.<\/p>\n
Watson had been hoping to return from the hamstring issue that kept him out of last week\u2019s loss to Melbourne, but the Hawks won\u2019t take the risk on him, despite a strong running session on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He ran laps on Thursday while the main Hawks group trained at the Kennedy Community Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, Nick won\u2019t play this week. He ran on Tuesday at 88 per cent of his top speed, which is still faster than most of us,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut just from a confidence point of view, we don\u2019t feel like it is worth the risk with it. He will miss one more and then he will be available for next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The livewire earlier this week had declared he was hoping to play as his hamstring improved. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot better,\u201d Watson told Code Sports on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs the game went on, it kept getting tighter and tighter and then that effort I felt it getting really tight and so I pulled up. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was better off doing that and then sat in the square for a bit … I tried to get back out there, but the docs didn\u2019t let me. It was better off for the long run anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell is confident that the Hawks can bounce back from their uncharacteristic first-half flogging by Melbourne last week. <\/p>\n
Jarman Impey and Karl Amon got through training and will return, while Dalton suffered a MCL sprain at training on Thursday and will spend some time on the sidelines. <\/p>\n
Josh Battle won\u2019t play after undergoing surgery late last week to remove his appendix, with Mitchell saying his teammates had been joking he was battling \u201cman flu\u201d.<\/p>\n
Nash hasn\u2019t played since round 11 with an injury that has perplexed the Hawks, but Mitchell is hopeful the club has more clarity around it now, saying it was a matter if when, not if, he returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has got some sort of disc issue in his neck which has caused him to lose some strength in his arms, which is quite unusual,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gone to some experts in Sydney through the week and got some further treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe definitely won\u2019t play for a month. Once we find out, \u2018OK, there is some improvement, which according to his treatment, could start as early as this week, which means he would be a month away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no timeline. Realistically he could miss the rest of this season, so I definitely hope that doesn\u2019t happen. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is very frustrated but I feel like there is a level of understanding of what is happening now and we have got to the bottom of where his lack of power and strength is coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n
CROWS CAUTIOUS ON LIVEWIRES UP FORWARD<\/p>\n
– Matt Turner<\/p>\n
Adelaide will give Callum Ah Chee and Luke Pedlar more time before they are recalled to AFL level from hamstring injuries.<\/p>\n
The Crows are taking a cautious approach with the duo ahead of Saturday night\u2019s home game against Gold Coast, but they are in line to return via the SANFL this week.<\/p>\n
Defender Wayne Milera (hamstring) and key forward Riley Thilthorpe (illness) are poised to face the Suns after missing three matches and one respectively.<\/p>\n
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said the club was not locked into a plan for Ah Chee\u2019s comeback.<\/p>\n
The dual Brisbane premiership player has featured in just four games as a Crow, suffering four hamstring strains.<\/p>\n
He has missed the past four matches with his latest injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll keep liasing with him around his body and how he\u2019s feeling, and keep listening to our (high-performance) experts,\u201d Nicks said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to throw him into the deep end.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know how important he is to us and we want him there at the business end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adelaide was also mindful of Pedlar\u2019s injury history, which had limited the forward to 49 games since being drafted in 2020.<\/p>\n
Nicks was looking forward to Milera being available, saying he should be in All-Australian discussions.<\/p>\n
The coach conceded the team probably should have brought wingman Isaac Cumming back via the SANFL before selecting him for the Showdown.<\/p>\n
Cumming was quiet in the loss to the Power then dropped last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had that hit-out and we\u2019ll make a decision going into this game,\u201d Nicks said.<\/p>\n