Pies lose Didak for Swans clash

Updated September 20, 2012 20:03:40

Collingwood has lost Alan Didak but remains confident about Chris Dawes ahead of Friday night's preliminary final against Sydney.

The Magpies made one change for the Olympic stadium encounter, leaving out Didak because of his calf muscle injury and recalling Ben Sinclair.

Didak's non-selection became apparent earlier on Thursday when he did not travel with the team to Melbourne airport after the Sorrento funeral for John McCarthy.

Didak and Dawes were injured in the Saturday night semi-final win over West Coast, leaving them only six days to recover.

Dawes strained the medial ligament in his right knee.

He was limping noticeably at a team recovery session on Tuesday, but was moving much better the next day at training.

"Any preparation between one game and the next is all about whatever that individual needs to get himself up - we're giving Dawesy every chance," Magpies coach Nathan Buckley told Melbourne radio.

"Part of what you saw on Tuesday, the limp as much as anything, was trying not to extend it to give it the best recovery.

"He possibly could have been on crutches to optimise that recovery or possibly not at the session with his leg up, but we thought some mobility was going to be his best form of recovery."

Swans defender Heath Grundy will return from a one-match suspension and come in for forward Ben McGlynn, who is desperately trying to recover from a hamstring injury should the Swans make the grand final.

Adelaide recalled defender Andy Otten for only his fifth match of the season ahead of Saturday's twilight preliminary final against Hawthorn at the MCG.

He is back in place of young defender Sam Shaw, who suffered a hamstring injury early in the semi-final win last Friday night against Fremantle.

A knee injury has sidelined Otten since round 17.

"While Andy hasn't had the season he would've hoped for because of injury and inconsistency at times, he's still a great player and he can easily come in and play a really important role for us," coach Brenton Sanderson told the Crows website.

"He can play both tall and small, which suits us against Hawthorn.

"He was really good in the game against West Coast when he hurt his knee."

Crows forward Jared Petrenko injured his shoulder in the last minute of the Dockers match, but he was named and will aim to prove his availability at a Friday training session.

Hawks midfielder Jordan Lewis and utility Clinton Young are back from injury to face the Crows.

The pair missed the bruising qualifying final win over the Magpies, where forward Brendan Whitecross snapped his anterior cruciate ligament and later needed a knee reconstruction.

Along with Whitecross' absence, the Hawks dropped Tom Murphy.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, collingwood-3066, sydney-2000

First posted September 20, 2012 18:48:02

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Dawes in, Didak likely out for Magpies

Updated September 19, 2012 12:17:54

Collingwood half-forward Alan Didak seems certain to miss Friday's preliminary final with Sydney, but Chris Dawes is set to take his place in the side.

Didak, who injured his calf in Saturday night's qualifying final win over West Coast, failed to appear at the Magpies' training session on Wednesday.

He and key forward Dawes, who is battling a knee medial ligament injury, were expected to push their selection claims today ahead of the Olympic stadium clash.

In front of hundreds of fans, Dawes was able to run and kick in a dramatic improvement on his showing in Tuesday's recovery session, to bolster his chances.

Before the session, Magpies director of coaching Rodney Eade had expressed confidence that both Didak and Dawes could prove their fitness.

"Obviously they'll be sent through a program that the medical staff are going to set for them," Eade said.

"It will be mainly some straight lines and some running, giving them as much chance as possible to get up for Friday.

"The word before training is that the medical staff are reasonably confident but only time will tell."

Despite Dawes limping noticeably on Tuesday, Eade said it had been expected he could improve quickly.

"There's a little bit of a strain there, but with the impact too he had a bit of bone bruising," Eade said.

"So there's a bit of pain there, I think that probably causes the limp.

"We think that will subside relatively quickly and also it's just a management issue from Chris to be able to cope with that."

Eade said Didak was still feeling discomfort in his calf, after receiving a knock in Saturday night's match then being subbed off after experiencing calf tightness.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, collingwood-3066

First posted September 19, 2012 12:17:54

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Didak down but not out

Updated June 12, 2012 14:09:49

Collingwood's Alan Didak's season is not over after news that the Magpie forward will not require surgery on his injured groin.

Didak lasted less than two minutes on the ground after injuring his groin while taking his first and only kick for Collingwood against Melbourne at the MCG on Monday.

It was feared that the injury could end Didak's season - the Collingwood goalsneak also missed most of last season with a calf injury.

However the club announced on Tuesday that scans revealed a complete tear of the adductor muscle.

Collingwood director of football, Geoff Walsh, said that the tear would actually help with a full recovery for the 29-year-old.

"Alan previously had a partial tear that was a consequence of the injury he suffered in the pre-season. With the muscle being completely torn away it will allow a full attachment to take place that will not require surgery," Walsh said.

"The advice is that the healing and rehabilitation process will not keep Alan sidelined for as long as he was in the pre-season.

"It's very much a short to medium term injury."

Didak had missed two months of football in the preseason and early home and away season after picking up the original injury.

He made his first appearance for the year in round seven against the Brisbane Lions, and was playing only his fifth game for 2012 against Melbourne.

Walsh said Collingwood was confident Didak would not be out for as long as last time.

"These things can rarely be predicted with exact precision but we're expecting Alan to play a significant role in the season," he said.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, melbourne-3000

First posted June 12, 2012 13:50:42

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