The Gold Coast midfield department has been dealt another significant blow with veteran onballer Michael Rischitelli joining Gary Ablett and Alex Sexton on the sidelines this weekend. After playing every game so far in 2015, the 29-year-old will miss the clash with West Coast due to personal reasons.
Despite another dose of terrible luck, the SUNS will be bolstered by the return of prodigious talent Jack Martin for his first game since round nine, as well as Adam Saad, Tom Nicholls and Jarrod Harbrow.
With Rischitelli and Ablett the two main exclusions from the side that lost to Adelaide at Adelaide Oval last weekend, the SUNS are now missing six of their best midfielders with Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia, David Swallow and Mitch Hallahan all unavailable.
After injuring his knee in the opening quarter against Adelaide, the dual Brownlow medallist will miss the remainder of the season. Sexton is out with a knee injury, and Zac Smith is the only unforced change.
Martin makes a long awaited return from a hamstring injury that has not seen him play at AFL level since Gold Coast’s loss to Hawthorn in Tasmania. The West Australian has endured another frustrating season at Metricon Stadium with injury reducing him to just six appearances for the year.
The 19-year-old was sanctioned for breaching club protocols after the trip to Tasmania, but after overcoming injury and suspension, Martin has six rounds left of the season to salvage something from the year.
Rookie revelation Saad returns after a three-match absence due to a groin injury. The audacious defender produced a mercurial first half of the season that excited the entire football landscape. Gold Coast has missed his dare and dash in recent weeks, struggling for run out of the back half of the ground.
With ruckman Nicholls available after overcoming a badly corked quad, the match committee have elected to select just one ruckman with Smith omitted. The last time the SUNS played West Coast, Nicholls got the better of Eagles star ruckman Nic Naitanui in difficult circumstances at Domain Stadium.
After missing last weekend’s trip to Adelaide Oval due to the birth of his first child, Harbrow returns to Eade’s side to add another helping of dash. Along with Saad and Martin, the SUNS have topped up on speed, an area of concern for the duration of 2015.
Round 18 AFL Premiership Team
B: A. Saad, R. Thompson, K. Kolodjashnij
HB: S. Lemmens, S. May, T. McKenzie
C: J. Harbrow, J. Martin, N. Malceski
HF: H. Bennell, T. Lynch, B. Matera
F: A. Hall, S. Day, C. Dixon
R: T. Nicholls, J. Lonergan, T. Miller
Interchange: L. Russell, H. Schade, M. Shaw, J. Glenn
Emergencies: Z. Smith, A. Boston, A. Raines
IN: J. Harbrow, T. Nicholls, A. Saad, J. Martin
OUT: G. Ablett (knee), M. Rischitelli (personal), Z. Smith (omitted), A. Sexton (knee)
