De Goey going slow in recovery X through pre-season comp
COLLINGWOOD star Jordan De Goey has set his sights on being cherry-ripe for the AFL finals, saying he won’t rush back from his untimely hamstring injury.
De Goey is set to miss Saturday’s clash with Melbourne at the MCG, having strained his hamstring in the dying minutes of the Round 19 loss to Richmond. With Collingwood owning the longest injury list in the AFL, De Goey indicated yesterday he wouldn’t take any chances with his return.
“I’m going all right, chipping away,” De Goey told Triple M. “It’s obviously one of these injuries you don’t want to come back too quickly from.
“I’ll take the right amount of time and make sure it’s right before I come back.
“Whether that’s this week or next, we’ll soon find out.
“Obviously this part of the season it’s just trying to get it right for the finals if that’s the case.”
Mason Cox became the latest victim of the Pies’ injury curse during their easy win over Gold Coast on the weekend.
The towering American suffered a tear of his retina in his left eye which requires season-ending surgery.
Nathan Buckley’s side was 10-3 but has since lost four of its past six games to fall to sixth spot. Collingwood faces seventh-placed Essendon and eighth-placed Adelaide in its final two rounds of the regular season, meaning further falls are possible. THE AFL’s maligned AFLX concept is on life support after being scrapped from the 2020 pre-season campaign.
The league told clubs yesterday the format would be shelved at least for the next year, with no firm decision on when it might be introduced.
The Rampage won this year’s four-team AFLX format at Marvel Stadium, with the league reporting strong support from children but a wave of negative feedback from football traditionalists.
Its silver Sherrins and “Zooper goals” were roundly mocked by AFL fans despite a strong crowd at the event.
The league told club chief executives at a two-day conference in Nagambie it wanted a decluttered pre-season.
The AFL scheduled a nonstop series of press events and media announcements on its AFLX tournament last year but it took away attention from the AFLW competition.
Next year four new teams will enter the AFLW.
Clubs would prefer to see AFLX in a post-season format.
Northern-based clubs were expected to talk to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan about a new cost of living allowance at the conference.
The league will also discuss the new head of mental health.
The league continues to review the pre-season format, which could still be abbreviated as the AFL tries to lessen pre-season injuries.