Eagles forced into rethink after another pre-season injury takes toll

NEWTOWN & Chilwell has been dealt its third significant injury blow in as many weeks with Jy Lane set to miss the season.

Eagles coach Damien McMahon said it was expected scans would confirm Lane had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

It had been feared that full forward Sam Nichols had suffered a fractured jaw in the weekend’s practice match against Leopold but he has been given the all-clear.

It is a relief for Nichols, who has missed significant footy in recent years with two ACL tears.

Lane also missed the majority of 2018 with a severe ankle injury and was a regular in the best players last year.

He is the second Newtown & Chilwell player set to undergo a knee reconstruction this pre-season after gun defender Alex Cincotta ruptured his

ACL during match simulation on February 26.

Ace recruit Jordan Jones may also be watching the season from the sidelines as he recovers from surgery on a ruptured meniscus in his knee.

Jones also has family and work priorities that could also prevent him playing.

“Jones, Cincotta and Jy Lane, they’d be all in our top five, top 10 players at least,” McMahon said.

“(It’s a) massive blow to us. Cincotta and Jy Lane were both prominent half-back flankers in the comp last year and Jones would have been one of the best mids in the comp as well.

“We’ve taken a hit (but) we’re pretty fortunate we’ve got a pretty strong list but still, you don’t want to lose players of that quality … bona fide senior footballers, they’re hard to replace.”

McMahon said Nicholls had escaped serious injury and would be right for Round 1.

“As it turned out, it’s not (a) fractured (jaw), just a severe cut to the face, which he’s had stitches on,” he said.

“(There was) a lot of blood. That part of your face you can bleed pretty quick. It probably looked worse than what it initially was but still, it’s a significant blow to the head.”

Newtown & Chilwell was down to one rotation for most of the clash as Dane McFarlane suffered a slight hamstring injury.

McMahon said the run of bad luck could open the door for fringe players to cement a place in the team.

“We’ll have to shift things around a little bit and make some structural changes to how we set up with a couple of those players not available,” he said.

“We’ve been building a strong list for a couple of years now so we’re reasonably confident we’ll be able to continue on without letting it affect us too much. Would we prefer to have them? Absolutely. No one likes to see injuries like that happen to anyone.”