Black's injury under control
May 30th 2008 00:36
Star midfielder and Brownlow Medallist Simon Black has not been having a good season, with his osteitis pubis keeping him out of the Round Seven clash with Geelong and the Hall of Fame Tribute Match.
But since his return, he has been a ball magnet getting 28 touches in both the Lions' win against Carlton and St. Kilda. Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews is still wary of his star player, and wants to ease him through the season.
“I get the feeling if we tried to put him on the field against Geelong we might still be in trouble but as soon as the symptoms came up we stopped him straight away,” Matthews said.
“He came off the game fine on the weekend. It’s a thing that if it pops up you’ve got to nip it in the bud. He’s certainly played well over the last few weeks… but we’ve got to make sure that it doesn’t become debilitating.”
If everyone gets through training unscathed, Matthews says that he will keep the same 22 that played last weekend.
“It’s a reflection of how the guys are going. The feeling from the match committee is that the 22 that went on the field last week is probably the best 22 to go on the field this week against the Kangaroos.
“Our injury list is small by its normal standard over the last few years. We’ve probably only got half a dozen players unavailable this weekend. There are a lot of guys playing reserves well but not enough to push anyone out this week.”
Matthews himself will be coaching his 449th AFL game, joining Norm Smith as the eighth longest-serving coach of all-time, having started his stint at Collingwood before joining the Lions.
But since his return, he has been a ball magnet getting 28 touches in both the Lions' win against Carlton and St. Kilda. Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews is still wary of his star player, and wants to ease him through the season.
“I get the feeling if we tried to put him on the field against Geelong we might still be in trouble but as soon as the symptoms came up we stopped him straight away,” Matthews said.
“He came off the game fine on the weekend. It’s a thing that if it pops up you’ve got to nip it in the bud. He’s certainly played well over the last few weeks… but we’ve got to make sure that it doesn’t become debilitating.”
If everyone gets through training unscathed, Matthews says that he will keep the same 22 that played last weekend.
“It’s a reflection of how the guys are going. The feeling from the match committee is that the 22 that went on the field last week is probably the best 22 to go on the field this week against the Kangaroos.
“Our injury list is small by its normal standard over the last few years. We’ve probably only got half a dozen players unavailable this weekend. There are a lot of guys playing reserves well but not enough to push anyone out this week.”
Matthews himself will be coaching his 449th AFL game, joining Norm Smith as the eighth longest-serving coach of all-time, having started his stint at Collingwood before joining the Lions.
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