The Gold Coast SUNS will be forced to make at least three changes from last Sunday’s side that was comprehensively beaten by Richmond at the MCG, and possibly up to four if Jack Martin fails to prove his fitness ahead of Saturday’s twilight fixture with Essendon.
Charlie Dixon, Tom Nicholls and Jarrod Harbrow definitely won’t play this weekend with the latter ruled out for the remainder of 2015 as he requires operations on his knee, ankle and shoulder. Whilst the SUNS ruckman remains a chance to return before the year is out despite injuring his knee and being substituted out of Sunday’s game at half-time.
Zac Smith is the obvious candidate to replace Nicholls in the ruck. The 25-year-old has played only eight games this season with Rodney Eade preferring to use Nicholls as the club’s No. 1 ruckman. Smith last played in the senior side in round 17 against Adelaide when Nicholls missed with corked quad, but is coming off a strong performance against Swans listed pair Tom Derickx and Toby Nankervis.
Since returning from a medial ligament strain three weeks ago, Danny Stanley has put together a case for a senior recall that almost can’t be ignored. The utility has endured a frustrating season due to a handful of different injuries, but since returning from his latest setback, Stanley has been dominant.
Against Sydney on Friday afternoon, the 27-year-old gathered 37 possessions, ten clearances, four inside 50s and four tackles to be one of the best players in the reserves narrow loss to the Swans. In his three return games, Stanley is averaging 31.7 possessions and 6.3 clearances per game.
Key defender Rory Thompson has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury but will return this weekend to support Steven May in defence. Despite Essendon’s poor season, the Bombers boast a talented tall forward setup in Joe Daniher, Jake Carlisle and Cale Hooker, which can trouble sides.
The match committee may also elect to recall tall defender Henry Schade to bolster the back six. The Tasmanian was dropped after the QClash win over Brisbane, but he responded emphatically by collecting 29 disposals, nine marks and five rebound 50s to put his hand up for an immediate return to the senior 22.
Sean Lemmens was the other player to be omitted following the narrow win over Brisbane in round 19. He didn’t quite respond in the same vein as Schade, but he was a solid contributor and could be a replacement for the injured Harbrow.
First-year key forward Peter Wright might be called upon to fill the void left by Dixon inside 50. Last year’s pick No. 8 was well held by young Sydney defender Aliir Aliir on Friday, but he did kick a bag of five goals only a week earlier. And given the state of the SUNS season, it would be beneficial to expose Wright to more senior football before the year is out.
Veteran midfielder Andrew Raines has been a picture of consistency in the NEAFL all season long and once again pressed his claims for another opportunity at senior level with a strong showing in the reserves. The former Brisbane and Richmond midfielder collected 28 disposals and nine tackles to continue his strong form.
