A BRUISING second round of the Hampden season has reared its head at the selection table, but missing stars have opened the way for fringe players and debutants to stake their claim on senior spots.
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Cobden will be without promising youngster Jack Hutt (knee) and Joe Dare (shoulder) for Saturday’s clash with Hamilton Kangaroos, but will welcome exciting young lead-up forward Sam Giblett in for his senior debut.
“His form has been excellent in the under 18s,” Bombers coach Levi Dare said. “He’s been stiff not to play so far, but he’s got his chance now.”
Joe is expected to miss three weeks, eyeing a post-interleague bye return, while the club was still waiting to learn whether Hutt would require a knee reconstruction.
“He’s going to see the surgeon this week,” Dare said. “But he had a little tear in the cruciate ligament beforehand ... (so) we’re fairly sure (he’ll need a reconstruction).”
Ryan Smith has also received the call-up to the senior side, while Toby Hawkins will make way for Aidan Cole.
Warrnambool will welcome back midfielder Damien McCorkell, who made a successful return from a hand injury through the reserves last week, for its away match against Portland.
Blues coach John Cook said the club would take a conservative approach to the valued player’s reintroduction.
“His competitive spirit won’t let him give up on the contest until he’s completely spent, so we’ve just got to be mindful of that,” Cook said.
“We’ve got a fairly young midfield group – I’m not saying that Damo is the ‘old hand’, but he gives a lot of good instruction and a lot of good talk.”
Andrew McCarthy is back in the Blues’ line-up for his first senior game of 2017, replacing Nicholas Alexandrou, while Tim O’Keeffe is another inclusion. Sam Wilde and Heath Turner are the other omissions.
Terang Mortlake aren’t taking any chances with Chris Baxter’s calf strain. Coach Michael Sargeant said he was likely to be out until after the interleague bye.
“It’s one of those one’s you don’t want to drag on throughout the season (so we’ll be conservative),” Sargeant said.
Ruckman Jake Tanner is unavailable for the clash and Mitch Carlin will step back to the reserves, while Harrison Hobbs will return from the TAC Cup to play his first game for the club and Gus Bourke (ankle) and Matthew Baxter (work) make their way back.
Meanwhile, Koroit’s James Gow has been named him as Geelong’s VFL team’s 23rd player for Saturday’s clash with Casey Demons.
Susie Giese
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
