Bad news for the eye of the Tiger
JACK Riewoldt has failed to have his sought-after “tickoff” from an eye specialist and will miss Sunday’s big MCG clash with Hawthorn.
And the Western Bulldogs left out skipper Bob Murphy with the team listing “travelling emergency” as the reason. The Bulldogs last night confirmed the veteran would travel to Brisbane as firstnamed emergency.
Tigers forward Riewoldt, 28, was sidelined for last week’s win over Gold Coast after a knock to his eye at training that caused a cut to his cornea and forced surgery.
But despite coach Damien Hardwick’s hopes early yesterday that the forward — who consulted a specialist later in the day — would be back to take on the Hawks, Riewoldt has been advised to rest for at least another week. “It was a pretty significant injury, when you think — he may have had seven or eight stitches in that eye,” Hardwick said on SEN before yesterday’s appointment. “It was more the bleeding behind the eye that was the concern, but trying to keep Jack out of the game last week was hard enough. God forbid if he’s a chance of missing this one.”
The forward had earlier told RSN his eye had to have “healed up enough to not rebleed” and that specialists had to “feel comfortable that I am not going to re-injure it from just running around”.
Key midfielder Dion Prestia is in the Tigers’ 25-man squad for the game, having missed last week because of a leg issue, as is Jack Graham, who could be in line for his Richmond debut having “really excited” Hardwick.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge made two changes to his outfit that was victorious over Essendon last week, having conceded he would have selection dilemmas to ponder this week.
Murphy was left out but was last night considered by the club to be neither rested nor omitted, given he is still the travelling emergency for the trip to Brisbane.
Jack Redpath came straight back in after serving his onematch suspension and will share the forward line with Travis Cloke, while forward Tory Dickson is out with a quad issue.
Sydney star Josh Kennedy is out of tonight’s blockbuster meeting with Geelong, but tall Swans duo Sam Reid and Kurt Tippett will return, the latter not having featured at AFL level since Round 10.
Collingwood last night named its first unchanged team for the year for tomorrow night’s meeting with North Melbourne, while the Kangaroos have given a reprieve to ruck Todd Goldstein, who returns after two weeks in the VFL.