THE imminent return of Jamie Elliott spells good news for Collingwood as it looks to bounce back from a shellacking at the hands of North Melbourne.
After eight weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, Elliott has been declared fit ahead of Friday night’s AFL clash with Hawthorn at the MCG.
The small forward could be fast-tracked back into the Magpies’ senior side, helping to fill the void left by Jaidyn Stephenson’s lengthy gambling suspension.
James Aish and Brayden Sier will meanwhile face fitness tests.
Aish was a late withdrawal for the Kangaroos clash with hamstring soreness, while Sier sat out the second half after being concussed.
Coach Nathan Buckley was unsparing after Saturday night’s miserable 11.15 (81) to 5.7 (37) defeat at Marvel Stadium, labelling their performance embarrassing.
With the Pies midfield having lowered their colours, important onballer Taylor Adams (groin) remains at least another week away.
Defensive duo Jeremy Howe (calf) and Tom Langdon (knee) and swingman Ben Reid (calf) are among others on the injury list.
Melbourne are sweating on the fitness of star ruckman Max Gawn for Sunday’s clash with Carlton after he rolled his ankle during their loss to Brisbane.
“We’ll try to get Max out on Thursday to have a bit of a run but we’ll probably give him to the last minute before we make a final decision,” fitness boss David Misson said on Tuesday.
Jake Lever and Neville Jetta are both eyeing returns from their respective knee injuries with Lever in line for senior selection and Jetta set to play limited minutes in the VFL.
Western Bulldogs backman Caleb Daniel has meanwhile been ruled out for up to four weeks after tweaking his hamstring in their win over Port Adelaide.
Mitch Wallis (ankle) could return to face ladder-leaders Geelong on Saturday night, while Dale Morris is closing in on an unlikely senior return after recovering from a knee reconstruction and making it through his VFL comeback unscathed.
© AAP 2019
