Inverleigh co-coach Dalton Grundell will miss the remainder of the 2024 season in a blow to the reigning premier’s knife-edge finals hopes.
Scans confirmed “moderate damage” to the star Hawks’ lisfranc ligament after his foot was accidentally stood on during the win over Winchelsea in Round 9.
Grundell has avoided surgery but is facing a six-month recovery period.
Co-coach Chris Moore says Grundell, who had kicked 20 goals from nine games before being injured, will prove hard to replace.
“You get injuries, and you can cover most of them,” Moore said. “Unfortunately, you can’t cover a Dalton Grundell.
“He was playing the best season of footy I’ve seen him play, clunking marks, playing predominantly forward.
“It’s a massive blow, but you can’t do much about it.”
Grundell joins a lengthy injury list that includes long-term issues for Michael Best and David Peel.
Michael Grozdanovski is also sidelined, and he was joined on the weekend by Dean Muir and Curtis Young, who failed to see out the narrow win over North Geelong.
Add to that the unavailability of Matt Tyquin, Paddy Bourke and Kieran McNally, and Inverleigh’s depth has been sorely tested.
“On the weekend, we had 11 players who didn’t play in last weekend’s grand final,” Moore said.
“And we had 12 unavailable on the weekend. Hopefully, we might be able to get three of those back for this weekend.
“But, it’s not ideal.”
Jake Templeton is expected to be available for Saturday’s massive clash with third-placed Werribee Centrals.
Moore will also consider Dan Midolo and Nathan Mayes after both returned from injury in Inverleigh’s reserves last weekend.
“We’ll touch base with those boys tonight and see how they got through,” he said.
“They’ll probably be up for selection this week.”
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