AFL Now: Latest updates, injury lists and team news on Wednesday ahead of round 6
Jordan De Goey is officially in for the 2023 GF rematch, but the Pies won’t have one of their key targets up forward when they face the Lions at the Gabba.
5 | Fagan previews Gabba blockbuster v Pies |
Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has been officially named to return from his sore ankle with a blockbuster clash against Brisbane on Thursday.
The midfielder was managed for Gather Round’s win over Sydney after inflammation in his lower leg, with the club taking a conservative approach.
But De Goey will line up against Lachie Neale and the Lions in the midfield.
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Tim Membrey has been managed as Collingwood’s only change for the clash, but has been named as an emergency.
Brisbane will unveil another debutant in Sam Marshall, who was drafted as an Academy product in 2024.
Marshall won a Coates Talent League premiership for Sandringham Dragons last year alongside Levi Ashcroft, who is quickly becoming a household name for the Lions.
Ashcroft was the Rising Star nominee for round 4 and is averaging 19.6 disposals a game to start his career.
James Tunstill will also play for Brisbane, with Will McLachlan (omitted) and Bruce Reville (injured) making way.
Originally published as AFL Now: Latest updates, injury lists and team news on Wednesday ahead of round 6
St Kilda will have to soldier on without Max King after the club sent the star for more surgery on his troublesome knee.
King, who is yet to play in 2025 after signing a monster extension to remain at Moorabbin, will have arthroscopic surgery on Thursday.
It is the second knee surgery for King in the past seven weeks as the club tries to relieve discomfort in his troublesome joint.
The club says there is yet to be a timeline determined for King’s return, however a standard recovery time from arthroscopic surgery can be range from 4-8 weeks before returning to full training loads.
Brisbane Lions’ academy graduate Sam Marshall will make his debut against Collingwood on Thursday night.
The 19-year-old midfielder was told on Wednesday by senior coach Chris Fagan he would be taking on the Magpies in front of a sell-out Gabba crowd.
Marshall was best on ground in the Coates Talent League grand final for Sandringham Dragons last year with 28 touches and two goals.
The ballwinner, who was taken with pick 25, grew up in Warana on the Sunshine Coast.
North Melbourne hard nut George Wardlaw is set to deliver the Roos’ engine room a huge boost in his comeback clash against Carlton on Good Friday.
The Kangaroos are under pressure to rise up the ladder after another flat start to the season and are set to one of its most talented young stars in a showdown with Blues’ superstar dual Brownlow Medalist Patrick Cripps.
Wardlaw, 20, seriously injured his hamstring in the preseason in a hammer blow for the club.
But the gun clearance-winner was excellent in the VFL team’s scratch match against Collingwood at the weekend despite rolling his ankle late.
The numbers have been crunched, and the verdict is in.
One club stands head and shoulders above the rest in the AFL Power Index.
And it’s not who you would expect.
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter admits he’s still trying to find the right balance of youth and experience in the midfield but stopped short of guaranteeing Tim Kelly’s return.
The 30-year-old was dropped for the first time in his 100-game Eagles career last week after an underwhelming start to the season. In his absence, West Coast’s midfield got a touch-up from Carlton, losing contested possession by 59 and clearances 40-18.
Kelly finished with 20 disposals against Subiaco and received plenty of attention around stoppages.
But ultimately, West Coast’s round five midfield mix of Jack Hutchinson (85 per cent centre bounce attendances), Tom Gross (74 per cent), Clay Hall (56) and Liam Baker (48) is vastly different to what Kelly, Elliot Yeo and Harley Reid offered the Eagles last year.
Veteran AFL corporate affairs and communications executive general manager Brian Walsh will depart the league mid-year after announcing his planned resignation.
Walsh has been in talks with AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon since midway through last season about stepping down from the role in July, 2025.
The Herald Sun understands Walsh informed friends early Wednesday that he was moving on.
The highly-respected senior figure has served the league across two stints — in 2006-2011 and 2019-2025 — and was crucial in helping steer the game through the COVID-19 crisis.
He also played a pivotal role in the introduction of the Tasmania Devils for 2028, which remains dependent on the construction of a world-class roofed stadium.
It is expected Walsh will still help consult to the AFL as a specialist adviser in the back half of the season.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan admits that “healthy belief” will only carry the Lions so far in their ongoing habit of needing to fight back from slow first-half performances to win games.
The Lions are currently on a 10-match winning run across two seasons and can extend their unbeaten start to their premiership defence to six games with victory over Collingwood at the Gabba on Thursday night.
Brisbane’s latest comeback was last Saturday against the Western Bulldogs at Norwood Oval where Fagan’s men trailed by 39 points early in the third-quarter before storming home to win by 21 points.
The Lions have also become the first team in VFL/AFL history since Carlton in 1909-10 to win eight successive matches after trailing at half-time, with six of those wins having occurred in their current unbeaten run, which started in August last year.
Rejuvenated Bomber Dylan Shiel has revealed he wants to finish his career with Essendon and intends to play on well beyond the end of this season.
Shiel, 32, is into the final year of his current deal.
He started the 2025 season in a new role off half-back and came in for some intense criticism when the Bombers got off to a 0-2 start to the season.
But a move back into his more familiar midfield role has seen Shiel return to his best.
Adelaide young gun Sid Draper says he now completely understands why he has been eased into life as an AFL player, as the Crow revealed the extent of the back issue that impacted his pre-season.
There had been a lot of excitement from Crows fans around their No. 4 draft pick, but Adelaide coaches and high performance staff were very deliberate in easing him into pre-season training.
And while he has featured in every game so far this season, his first three games came as the starting substitute.
Collingwood father-son prospect Tom McGuane is firming as a first-round draft prospect after an eye-catching start to his top-age season.
McGuane racked up 38 disposals, 10 clearances and seven score involvements for the Western Jets in a loss to the Eastern Ranges on Saturday, registering a game-high 154 ranking points in an impressive individual showing.
The classy midfielder – who is the son of 1990 Magpies premiership player Mick McGuane – has been on Collingwood’s radar for some time and had a strong bottom-age campaign in 2024.
Measuring 178cm tall, he is a player with a high football IQ, has clean hands and is a nice left-foot kick when in space.
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