Pies duo race clock for blockbuster

Important Collingwood pair Josh Daicos and Brayden Maynard face fitness tests ahead of a crucial clash against Essendon after suffering contact injuries against Gold Coast.

Daicos (corked calf) and Maynard (corked quad) will race a six-day break to play in the Friday night clash, as the Magpies confirmed Beau McCreery would miss at least four weeks with the calf strain he suffered against the Suns.

Collingwood high performance boss Jarrod Wade was more optimistic about Maynard’s chances of facing Essendon than the prospect of Daicos playing.

“These calf (corks) can often linger around ... the six-day turnaround is probably working against (Daicos) in this case, we’ll have to see how that lands,” Wade said.

Pies duo race clock for blockbuster

Hawthorn captain James Sicily avoided surgery on his injured shoulder and remains a chance to face Geelong on Saturday.

Sicily dislocated his right shoulder for the second time in a match this season against West Coast on Sunday and did not return to the field after the incident late in the third term.

Hawks high performance boss Peter Burge said the 29-year-old would be tested ahead of their crucial trip to GMHBA Stadium to face Geelong this weekend.

“James had an incident with his shoulder on the weekend during the game and we didn’t put him back out there towards the end of the game, given the game’s situation,” Burge said.

“He’s reported in today and we’ve had a good look at him, and we’re going to have another look at him later in the week and we’ll make a call with his availability for the weekend.”

Geelong expects forward Ollie Henry to be available after he missed the clash against the Bombers with a hamstring issue.

Scans have also cleared Carlton utility Matthew Kennedy of any damage to his knee.

Kennedy is still a chance to face GWS this week along with Matt Cottrell (foot) and Tom De Koning, who is still experiencing soreness after he was a late withdrawal from Sunday’s clash against Richmond.

The season of Richmond mid-season draft pick Campbell Gray is likely over in another gut-wrenching blow for the Tigers.

Gray, 20, was best on ground for the Tigers in the VFL on Sunday with four goals from 14 disposals before he badly tore his hamstring.

The 195cm forward was ruled out for eight weeks, with Richmond still at least one week away from regaining spearhead Tom Lynch from his latest hamstring strain.

Fremantle was hopeful of bolstering its inexperienced backline with Brennan Cox after the key defender successfully returned from a severe hamstring tear through the WAFL with two games under his belt.

In captain Alex Pearce’s absence, Josh Draper led a superb defensive effort in the one-point win over Sydney, but Cox would be a welcome inclusion after being sidelined since round 1.

The 25-year-old, who was drafted as a key forward, emerged as one of the competition’s top tall defenders in 2022 when he was named in the All-Australian squad.

Gold Coast will again turn to newly re-signed ruckman Ned Moyle after captain Jarrod Witts was ruled out for a fortnight due to a fractured vertebrae.

Witts copped a knee to the back midway through the final quarter of the Suns’ win over Collingwood, with scans revealing a small fracture.