Scratchy Joeys on the brink
guns Tom Lang (ankle) and Jack Blood (shoulder) both suffered second-half injuries.
But Keast is confident Cowan, as well as Damien McMahon (hamstring), Blood and Lang, can return for the clash with Leopold, remaining “hopeful we’ll have a full list”.
“I’d hope we’d have those guys available next week,” Keast said.
“At this time of year everyone is carrying a little niggle, but you’ve just got to grit your teeth and get through it.” OUTGOING St Joseph’s coach Heath Jamieson admits “time is running out” for his side this season after its 51point loss to St Mary’s on Saturday.
Earning the double chance after finishing third on the ladder despite some patchy form through the back half of the year, St Joseph’s will fight for its season in next Sunday’s knockout semi-final against South Barwon.
Saturday’s loss was their fifth in their past 10 matches and they face a possible straight-sets finals exit, just like they endured in 2016.
To make matters worse, Jamieson believes Kieren Paliouras will miss at least a week after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
“Our form is not great,” Jamieson said. “We are worried and concerned about the way we’re going, but we still have great belief and I still have great belief in this playing group that they can do anything.
“But time is running out for them, time is running out.”
The game was effectively decided in the second quarter.
From the moment Curtis McCarthy kicked a goal to start the second quarter, St Joseph’s proceeded to go 40 minutes without another goal until Paul Dreher slotted one home in the third term.
The margin in that time had blown out to 54 points, as St Mary’s slammed on nine unanswered goals.
Worryingly for St Joseph’s, excluding its five-point loss to St Mary’s in Round 16, the reigning premiers have an average losing margin of 49 points for the year.
“We’re struggling to halt momentum mid-quarter, and it’s not like basketball where you can get a time-out and throw things around — we need to be stopping things in play,” Jamieson said.
“But I’ll be the last bloke that writes off my group. They’re a proud group, but they also know the way we’re playing at the moment isn’t good enough.”