Wait and see for Walters
Fremantle will find out next week whether or not Michael Walters will require surgery on his injured left ankle. Walters dislocated the tendon in his ankle during Friday night's loss to Hawthorn. "At this stage the medical advice is that we should wait a week to 10 days to allow the swelling in Michael's ankle to subside before having further scans," General manager of football operations Chris Bond said. "After the surgeon has reviewed and reported on those scans next week, our medical team will be best placed to make a decision on whether or not surgery is required."
Suns, Giants to contest
Gold Coast and GWS will roll the dice at the tribunal after choosing to contest the one-match bans against Steve May and Devon Smith respectively. May will be fighting a rough condcut charge on Brisbane's Dayne Zorko. Smith will be contesting a a striking sharge on Melbourne's Bernie Vince. Both will not risk further suspension if they are unsuccessful.
Eagles Rocked
West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey has accepted a one-match suspension for striking St Kilda's Tom Curran during Saturday night's 25-point win for the Eagles. Shuey's absence adds to a tough week at selection for the Eagles' brains trust as he will be joined on the sidelines by the injured Mark LeCras (arm) and Chris Masten (hamstring). Shannon Hurn (four) is already out while Sharrod Wellingham is no certainty to be back after suffering groin soreness. Luckily for coach Adam Simpson, hard man Patrick McGinitty is on standby, along with youngster Dom Sheed and workhorse Mark Hutchings.
Adams Accepts
Collingwood have also accepted a one-match suspension for Taylor Adams after he was charged for rough conduct following a head clash with Geelong's Joel Selwood.
Jawbreaker
Melbourne have suffered another blow, losing midfielder Viv Michie for at least four weeks with a broken jaw. According to the AFL website, scans have indicated a small crack in Michie's jaw after he was bumped heavily during Casey's VFL clash with Essendon on Saturday. The former Docker played in Melbourne's first two games of the season before being dropped after managing just one match in three years with the Dockers as he battled foot issues.
Giants Rising
Greater Western Sydney's decision to trade away Dom Tyson to Melbourne in exchange for Josh Kelly has earned some immediate rewards as the youngster became the latest nomination for the NAB Rising Star award. Having earned 11 touches coming on as a sub against St Kilda last week, Kelly helped the Giants to their second victory of the season against Melbourne on Sunday.
Footy and the 'Rat
The Victorian state government is set to unveil plans for a major development of the Ballarat Showgrounds on Tuesday. According to The Age, the development is worth somewhere between 20 and 30 million dollars and may see teams like North Melbourne or Western Bulldogs play matches in the Victorian regional centre.
Super Lucky Sauce
AFL Great Gerard Healey has questioned the severity of Lion Daniel Merrett's two-match punishment for elbowing Gold Coast's David Swallow during Brisbane's big QClash loss. "It's manifestly inadequate. The AFL should send this to the tribunal tomorrow and ask 'is this manifestly inadequate?'" Healey told AFL360. "The AFL didn't like the (Shaun) McKernan result last year and they gave themselves extra powers and they must simply use them. I've got this in the 3-4 (weeks) region."
A Blue Day
Carlton president Stephen Kernahan has backed coach Mick Malthouse to develop the Blues into a contender as they slipped to 0-3 for the season following a big loss to Essendon on Sunday night. "We were ordinary and to tell you the truth it could have been more," Kernahan told Footy Classified. "The last think I'm worrying about is if we’re being coached well. I am (angry). I was angry last week and the week before. We just didn’t represent the club well last night. I fully expect Mick to shape the side and I fully expect us to be better than last night. I expect our blokes to come out on Sunday night firing and snarling. I expect it and want it."
Symes Considers Career
Former Adelaide and Port player Brad Symes is considering retirement from all footy after being on the wrong end of a sickening elbow while playing for Central Districts on the weekend in the SANFL. The Magarey Medallist copped his second heavy concussion in a year after being collected heavily by Woodville-West Torrens player Adam Grocke with an elbow during a marking contest. Symes was cleared of facial fractures but is considering his future in the game.