Damian Hardwick – Michmutters

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Casualty Ward, Sydney Swans, Josh Kennedy, Richmond, Nick Vlastuin, St Kilda, Dan Hannebery, Geelong Cats, Patrick Dangerfield, injury, news, latest, update, fitness, team news

Casualty Ward, Sydney Swans, Josh Kennedy, Richmond, Nick Vlastuin, St Kilda, Dan Hannebery, Geelong Cats, Patrick Dangerfield, injury, news, latest, update, fitness, team news

There’s fears Sydney veteran Josh Kennedy has played his last match after suffering another hamstring injury in the VFL.

Plus the Saints’ sweat on Dan Hannebery’s fitness after the luckless midfielder goes down once again.

Get the latest AFL injury news in our Round 21 Casualty Ward!

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SYDNEY veteran Josh Kennedy could potentially be “pushed into retirement” after another hamstring injury; this time suffered in the VFL on Sunday.

Kennedy missed 10 matches after a horror hamstring tendon injury suffered against Carlton back in Round 10.

He made his return as the medi sub last round, but didn’t get on the field.

So the Swans made the call to send Kennedy back to the VFL. But he has now injured the hamstring on his opposite leg.

Kennedy limped off the ground in the second term after trying to lay a tackle on North’s Tarryn Thomas.

“It’s disastrous developments,” Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph said.

“It seemed to be a really serious hamstring injury.

“The worst case scenario for a hamstring tear at the high end scale or a tendon injury probably puts him out for the rest of the season and potentially pushes him into retirement.”

Riewoldt on ‘mind-boggling’ McEvoy trade | 01:14

PORT ADELAIDE star connor rozee will undergo scans after a knee scare in Saturday night’s loss to Richmond, but club doctors are confident the mercurial midfielder has avoided significant damage.

The 22-year-old limped from the ground in the second quarter at Adelaide Oval after his left leg twisted awkwardly under him as he attempted a quick change of direction.

He was clearly in pain as he was assessed on the sideline and was taken to the changerooms for treatment before half-time, then shortly emerged with the knee heavily strapped to play out the second half.

The Power was playing for pride only, having been knocked out of finals contention by Collingwood, but coach Ken Hinkley was comfortable with the decision not to put the young star in cotton wool.

“What you do when you manage a player is you have good conversations with the medical team and they were very certain and sure that there was not going to be any further damage done,” Hinkley said.

“It was about whether the pain was manageable for Connor and he seemed to think it was.

“You wouldn’t take a risk with a player like Connor, and we never do, regardless of the state of the season.

“(The medical staff) said structurally it’s all fine so that should give us confidence.”

RICHMOND are waiting on the results of scans on defender Nick Vlastuin after he was subbed out of the win over Port Adelaide.

Vlastuin sustained rib damage in a collision with Charlie Dixon, with Richmond coach Damien Hardwick conceding it is unlikely the important defender will be fit to take on the Hawks on Sunday.

He could also be in doubt to face Essendon in Round 23.

Tigers down Port to keep finals alive | 01:09

GEELONG are taking a cautious approach with star Patrick Dangerfieldafter the veteran was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s win over St Kilda.

But Cats coach Chris Scott is confident Dangerfield will be fit to face the Gold Coast next weekend.

“The feedback I’ve got from him and the medical staff is that he’s fine,” Scott said.

“He just felt some awareness (of calf tightness) in the warm-up and I think in the past he’s pushed through these things thinking he’d be fine.

“And even if there was a one per cent chance that he might do some damage, he wasn’t prepared to take it. So it seemed a logical call.”

ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten says Dan Hannebery is in a race to be fit for the must-win clash with Brisbane on Friday night.

The injury-prone Hannebery was subbed out of the loss to Geelong with an ankle injury.

He’s managed just 17 games for the Saints since crossing from Sydney at the end of 2018 due to ongoing soft tissue injuries.

Hannebery is also out of contract at the end of this season.

“We’ve just got to look after him,” Ratten said.

Geelong stay top with massive Saints win | 02:30

“It was a risk to put him back out there; we’re not taking a risk with a player we are trying to get up for next week.

“He might not even get up this week. We’ve just got to work through what it will look like for Dan post this game.

“He’ll be a test all the way until the last day. It’ll be tight.”

Ratten conceded Hannebery was in “a bit of discomfort” post match but said if he provided himself fit, he’ll keep his spot in the line up to face the Lions.

FREMANTLE‘s Matt Taberner is racing to be fit to face West Coast in next weekend’s Western Derby after being subbed out of the win over the Western Bulldogs.

Taberner failed to see out the match once again, this time with a calf issue, after being restricted to just 12 games in 2022 due to back and hamstring complaints.

Coach Justin Longmuir said the latest setback was disappointing.

“He was looking dangerous again so it’s disappointing for him and us,” he said.

“We’ll rehab it and see what the rest of the year looks like.

“We’ll see what the scan says and see what the doctors recommend for his time out but there’s not much of the season left to be too cautious so we’ll see how it pans out over the next couple of days.”

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Caroline Wilson blasts Richmond coach Damien Hardwick’s apology after local footy outburst

Caroline Wilson blasts Richmond coach Damien Hardwick's apology after local footy outburst

AFL journalist Caroline Wilson has taken aim at Richmond coach Damien Hardwick’s apology after his outburst at a local footy game two weekends ago.

Hardwick was watching the Tigers VFL side dominate Williamstown in a 10.14 (74) to 2.7 (19) thrashing but took umbrage at an on-field incident between the Seagulls’ Darby Henderson and Richmond’s AFL-listed player Rhyan Mansell.

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Hardwick allegedly called Williamstown players “weak f***ing pricks” during the contest at Punt Road Oval but was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Hardwick fronted up and apologized for the incident.

“I understand in my position I’ve got to be better than that,” Hardwick said last Thursday, speaking for the first time about the incident.

“I’ve got to be probably judged to a higher standard, and I understand that. What I will ask is that (people remember) I am human.

“I’m going to make mistakes and there’s no doubt that I overstepped the mark.”

Hardwick added: “I probably didn’t need to lean over the fence and yell but that’s me.

“What makes me good makes me bad.”

He also said he had not been sanctioned by Richmond or the AFL but had received a scalding from his mum Pam.

“It’s funny how you’re still scared of your mother at the age of 49,” he joked.

But the apology got Wilson’s nose out of joint and she took aim on Footy Classified on Monday night.

“Damien Hardwick is not the first AFL coach to behave badly at the footy and then make a half-hearted apology,” she said.

“But that doesn’t excuse the Richmond coach’s disappointing effort five days ago.

“Damien’s abusive tirade issued at Williamstowns’s Darby Henderson did have a touch of Alastair Clarkson about it. And like Clarko and Mick Malthouse and Luke Beveridge also demonstrated a similar unwillingness to take full responsibility.

“’What makes me good makes me bad’, he said, ‘I need to be better’. And again to soften the blow he invoked the spirit of a woman in the family, mother Pam seems to be the new Mrs Hardwick.”

Wilson was referring to Hardwick’s penchant for mentioning his ex-wife “Mrs Hardwick” in press conferences, before the pair split up.

She added: “But Damien, as a national sporting leader, a renowned and championed statesman of the game, we do hold you to a higher standard and you do need to be better.

“No one expects perfection, but on this occasion an unmitigated apology would have been a lot better.”

The comments sparked some discussion on the panel, as Port Adelaide 300-gamer Kane Cornes defended Hardwick.

“It’s a harsh one. I think you’re being a bit hard on him. What more did you need from his apology for him there? Cornes asked.

Wilson: “’I absolutely did the wrong thing, nobody should abuse players and swear at players at the football. As a premiership coach I, of all people, shouldn’t do that’.”

Corners: “Didn’t he say that? He said ‘I need to be held to a higher account than the other people’.”

Wilson: “’But my mum got mad at me and I’m still scared of my mum’? Who is he? Scott Morrison? Seriously, that was not good enough.”

Corners: “I think you are being a bit harsh. I think that is not a serious offence.”

Wilson: “He is a champion coach, just off the back of a brilliant performance, people need to properly apologise. He has been told he had to apologise, he should have either refused or not apologised.”

Corners: “I took that as a heartfelt apology.”

Another narrative has emerged over the future of the three-time premiership coach. Hardwick has been at the helm of Richmond since 2010 and questions have been asked about whether 13 years is enough.

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd asked if Wilson would “move on from him” if she had the choice.

“I separate Damien Hardwick the coach and some of the other stuff,” Wilson said.

“I think like Alastair (Clarkson), and he also, as we know, he is also a champion coach, he did some terrible things in bad behavior off the field, junior footy game with a Port Adelaide supporter, punching a wall, swearing at journalists and Luke Beveridge as well.

“It’s not good enough. Apologies make the world go round and set examples to young people about how they should behave.”

Read related topics:Scott Morrison

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Brisbane Lions loss to Richmond, MCG losing streak, Chris Fagan press conference, why was Darcy Fort sub, Zac Bailey injury

Brisbane Lions loss to Richmond, MCG losing streak, Chris Fagan press conference, why was Darcy Fort sub, Zac Bailey injury

The Brisbane Lions’ premiership hopes took a significant hit on Sunday afternoon, with Richmond putting the side’s top-four hopes in jeopardy following a stunning come-from-behind win at the MCG.

Brisbane at one stage in the first half held a 42-point lead, but was reigned in during a thrilling second-half that ultimately ended in the Lions’ 11th straight loss at the MCG, with the side still yet to win at the venue since 2014.

Despite the loss, Fagan said the MCG hoodoo remained an external talking point rather than a genuine phenomenon.

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Brisbane Lions press conference | 06:30

“It’s our best performance at the MCG for a long period of time I would’ve thought,” he said post-game.

“It doesn’t matter to me but I thought anyone watching the game would’ve thought it was a fantastic game of football. We were in it all the way to the end.

“Richmond had a really strong team tonight outside of Dustin. They had a lot to play for, as did we, we were trying to cement ourselves in the top four, now we’re in a battle, they’re trying to get back in the eight … there was no lack of effort on our side or theirs, it was a good reply in that regard.”

Not helping the Lions’ cause was an injury to Zac Bailey in the opening half, which forced Darcy Fort – a ruckman – into the contest as his replacement.

It was a move that raised eyebrows, but one Fagan was coy on when asked post-game.

“In hindsight it was the wrong decision to have Darcy as the sub. It’s probably something I’d rather keep in-house to be honest,” he said.

“I appreciate you asking the question, but we have our reasons and they’re good reasons, but in reflection tonight it would’ve been better to have a running player for sure.”

Speaking on Fox Footy, Dermott Brereton said Fagan had every right to be more frustrated with his side.

“I wouldn’t like to be sitting on one of the wooden seats inside the rooms as coach Fagan decides to give them a recital of what he’s just seen in the last 60 minutes,” he said.

Richmond Tigers Press Conference | 08:42

“Even though they got to within two goals at three quarter-time, I felt like they could still stabilize, Brisbane. Not until Rioli bombed one from 55m did I go ‘woah, this is really dangerous for them now’.”

Co-host Nick Dal Santo said the MCG factor was less of a concern than the sheer collapse the side suffered in the second half.

“Yes the ground conversation will get brought up and I think rightly so, but more damning and more disappointing from a coach’s perspective and the leaders of this football club is they weren’t able to shut the game down during the third quarter, let alone the last quarter,” he said.

“Lachie Neale got enough of the football, so my question becomes what went wrong and who didn’t stand up?

“Because you can’t ask a lot more from their key forwards, particularly in that first half, but it dropped off so quickly and their inability to minimize the momentum when the Tigers had it.”

Asked if there were elements of a “choke” in the Lions’ loss, Dal Santo said: “You’d have to say yes. But to what degree of a choke, I’m not quite sure.

“But when you’re up by 42 points, you are well and truly in control.”

Brereton added: “I thought they put in well enough to say it wasn’t a choke. Richmond just went back to their tried and true formula.”

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