SO CLOSE, BUT UNKIND CUT FOR ALIIR
SYDNEY defender Aliir Aliir will miss the AFL Grand Final because of a knee injury, and one of his fit teammates could feel the brunt of football’s most-unedifying axe.
Aliir was unable to train at the SCG yesterday and the Swans confirmed he would not take part in Saturday’s decider against the Western Bulldogs.
The 22-year-old, who made his debut in Round 6 and played 13 games this year, suffered a minor medial ligament strain in Sydney’s preliminary final.
Coach John Longmire is contemplating two changes to the side that smashed Geelong, with co-captain Jarrad McVeigh (calf) and Rising Star winner Callum Mills (hamstring) both able to train yesterday.
It’s likely Harry Marsh or Jeremy Laidler will be dropped if Longmire recalls McVeigh and Mills.
The only thing stopping Sydney picking the duo will be the fear of both breaking down. “You’ve got to go in with a fit squad,” 2005 premiership skipper Barry Hall said. It would test the mettle of Mills and McVeigh, who trained on Sunday and had been racing the clock to return.
“We’ve seen players in the past step aside because they’ve been honest. It’s quite easy to get caught up in Grand Final week and go ‘Yeah, I’ll get through.’ It’s a tough game,” he said.
On-baller Josh Kennedy was confident his coach would make the right call. “You don’t want anyone really missing through injury,” Kennedy said.
“There’ll be a few nervous guys but . . . you know that Horse and the coaching staff are going to make the best decision for what’s best for the team.”
Kennedy dismissed any concerns over his own knee niggle. “I’m feeling good. I’m certainly under no cloud,” he said.
Ted Richards, who announced his retirement in August, isn’t expected to be get a fairytale farewell.
He was listed as an emergency in the Swans’ semi-final but the Bulldogs don’t have nearly as many tall targets as Adelaide.
Aliir was feared to have done serious damage after landing awkwardly last Friday night at the MCG.