North Melbourne defender Robbie Tarrant is the latest star to be ruled out of the AFLX mini-tournament.
Tarrant was sent for scans on his AC joint after he was crunched in a tackle during Wednesday’s intra-club hit out at Arden St.
The club later confirmed he will need surgery that will rule him out of the February 22 event.
It is another blow for Patrick Dangerfield’s Bolts team, which has lost Port Adelaide dynamo Robbie Gray because of knee soreness.
Power teammate Tom Rockliff has taken Gray’s place in the Bolts squad.
“Rob’s pretty close. I think they just want to get a little bit more conditioning into him before he goes into that game (situation),” Rockliff told reporters at Alberton Oval.
“He’s done a fair bit of match simulation out here.
“(AFLX) is a good concept and, obviously, something that you can take all around the world. I think most of the players are really looking forward to it.”
Hawthorn’s Chad Wingard (calf), Melbourne’s Steven May (hamstring) and Fremantle’s Joel Hamling (soft-tissue injury) have all withdrawn from the Deadly team captained by Eddie Betts.
St Kilda’s Jade Gresham, Gold Coast’s Jack Martin and Dockers backman Nathan Wilson are the replacements.
AFL clubs are again taking no risks with their players after a spate of withdrawals during last year’s inaugural tournament.
The concept has been revamped this year after the debut had attracted only lukewarm interest.
Four all-star teams, captained by Dangerfield, Betts, Nat Fyfe and Jack Riewoldt, will compete at Marvel Stadium.
A maximum of four players from each AFL team can be selected across the tournament.
No injuries were reported during last year’s three-day exhibition, partly due to its low-intensity nature.
Every AFL club was required to field an AFLX team but there was minimal commitment across the board.
West Coast named 11 debutants, Adelaide ruled out almost their entire 2017 grand final side and Fyfe and Gray were among last-minute scratchings.
The calibre of players named for this year’s tournament is undoubtedly higher but AFL clubs remain wary of the concept, with Richmond superstar Dustin Martin among the big-name players ruled unavailable.
The hit-and-giggle competition this year features a designated “game changer” with the power to earn double points for the final five minutes of each game.
Flyers captain Fyfe confirmed players would keep intensity to a minimum.
“AFLX will likely be a non-contact style of play,” Fyfe said.
“There is more risk of me getting injured in regular pre-season team training than there is in AFLX.”
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Obviously, on the count to date, all the injuries are at normal club training. Why blame AFLX? The games last year were lightweight and bruise free. They are basically skills drills.
Mark
Guest
Agree with you Gordon. The AFL don't seem to know what they want to use AFLX to do. If it is meant to attract people in non-AFL states and countries to the game ie similar to T20 being used to attract people who don't like traditional cricket, then why are they playing it in Melbourne, a city where just about everyone is aware of the sport (most like it, some don't, no-one is unaware of it). Why the ludicrous 10 point goal and double points in the last 5 minutes, which are rules that hopefully will never be seen in the real AFL competition? If they want it to attract people to play socially (as they announced a few weeks ago), why not conduct a grass-roots campaign rather than the silly superheroes sales pitch transparently aimed at 5-10 year olds? If it is less intense than pre-season training (as Nat Fyfe has said, and reportedly the AFL told the clubs the same thing to assuage concerns about players getting injured), then why are they charging a fee to attend and watch? It seems that the AFL wants the public to take AFLX seriously, even whilst they market it to 5-10 year olds, but they want the players to treat it like a non-contact practice session. If the AFL can't work out why they are putting AFLX on, why should the public bother with it?
Larry1950
Guest
This AFLX is such a 'nothing' concept and waste of time that players will be pulling out with the sniffles fairly soon. Can't wait for the uproar if one of the establishment clubs like the magpies lose a key player with a serious injury, doesn't matter about the 'also rans' but don't impact the premiership contenders.
Gordon P Smith
Roar Guru
If the AFL wants this to be an all-star style exhibition, that’s fine – just about every sport has one, and they’re all “hit-and-giggle” type contests. Let’s just say so and enjoy it for what it is. If they want it to be a low-contact training ground for the “bubble players” on the rosters, as it seemed to be last year, that’s fine, too. If it’s supposed to be an experiment in an exportable form of footy, then adapt the rules to how you see it working in “rectangular field” nations like mine (USA), instead of throwing 20-point goals in at random. The problem right now is that no one has made that crucial decision: what is the underlying purpose of the AFLX? Once you make that decision, then you can work everything else with that goal in mind. It’s still possible that the format isn’t the best way to accomplish the goal, but at least you’ve got a fighting shot at something meaningful. Right now, it’s simply hurling stuff at the wall and hoping something sticks.
WCE
Roar Rookie
I hope the West Coast pull out of this ridiculous play school game , an injury playing this crap would be disastrous