Injury List 2023

[dog town]

You would have to think we've read it wrong but perhaps going back on wasn't the issue anyway.

Nah he has been carrying it for a while so I don’t think it’s made it worse. Just as a general principal in a scratch match I would have thought he stays off until he is assessed.

[bornadog]

Nah he has been carrying it for a while so I don’t think it’s made it worse. Just as a general principal in a scratch match I would have thought he stays off until he is assessed.

Wasn't it assessed at half time?

[dog town]

Wasn't it assessed at half time?

Pretty limited with your assessment at the ground. Just think it should be a risk free approach when there isn’t points on the line.

[bornadog]

Pretty limited with your assessment at the ground. Just think it should be a risk free approach when there isn’t points on the line.

Yes, agree. Often the player wants to keep going.

[Axe Man]

Dogs forward overcomes niggle, first-round pick back to full fitness

Western Bulldogs young gun Cody Weightman is on track for round one after overcoming a late niggle in the pre-season, while first-round pick Jedd Busslinger is back to full fitness following a shoulder reconstruction last year.

Weightman didn't feature in the club's intraclub at Mars Stadium in Ballarat on Saturday due to a recent adductor strain he suffered at training.

But after completing Wednesday's main training session at Skinner Reserve, the 22-year-old is likely to bank some minutes in Saturday's practice match against North Melbourne ahead of the Bulldogs' season-opener against Melbourne on March 18.

Jason Johannisen also completed training to put himself in contention to face the Kangaroos at Ikon Park this weekend, after overcoming a calf issue in recent weeks.

After arriving at the Whitten Oval via pick No.13 in last November's NAB AFL Draft, Busslinger has gradually built his workload across the summer, with the Dogs' high performance team taking a slow and steady approach with the 196cm key defender.

Busslinger hasn't played since his final season of underage football was ended prematurely when he required surgery last July.

The 18-year-old was still named in the All-Australian side despite missing the final two games of the national championships.

But after passing another hurdle on Wednesday, the West Australian is set to build his training load over the next month and be ready to play in the VFL inside the first few rounds of the season.

Wingman Roarke Smith is set to miss the start of the season due to a plantar fascia issue, increasing the chances of delisted free agent Oskar Baker facing his old side in round one following an impressive summer.

Ryan Gardner will miss the opening round after undergoing surgery on Tuesday to repair a crack in one of the bones in his elbow.

The 25-year-old has dealt with an elbow issue across the pre-season but aggravated the injury in a contest in the Bulldogs' intraclub.

With Josh Bruce and Alex Keath fighting for a spot down back alongside free agency signing Liam Jones and young gun Sam Darcy – if he remains in defence – the injury to Gardner can be covered by the increased level of key-post depth at the kennel.

[bornadog]

A couple of injuries today:

Doc Duryea in neck brace

Richards - Corky

Crozier - dislocated finger

Scott - could be a corky not confirmed as it happened at end of play

[bornadog]

Good News:

• Taylor Duryea and Hayden Crozier were injured in the Bulldogs’ practice match win over North Melbourne but have been cleared of serious injury

[bulldogfan]

And Ed is fine also .😁

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Great news.

[Eastdog]

Great to hear.

[Scraggers]

So who is unavailable round 1?

I’m pretty happy with the general level of fitness for the whole group. We seem to have more to choose from this beginning of season compared to the last few seasons.

[1eyedog]

It looks like Gardner (elbow) and JJ (match fitness) might be the only two best 22 players not available for Round 1. Is there anyone else? Cody's ommission looked like a precaution?

TOB, VDM and Roarke the other injuries that are outside best 22.

Wouldn't be surprised to see JJ line up for round 1 though.

[azabob]

It looks like Gardner (elbow) and JJ (match fitness) might be the only two best 22 players not available for Round 1. Is there anyone else? Cody's ommission looked like a precaution?

TOB, VDM and Roarke the other injuries that are outside best 22.

Wouldn't be surprised to see JJ line up for round 1 though.

Agree.
JJ seems to be best 22 when fit. If he can get his match fitness up I expect him to play.

[bornadog]

“I’M NOT A LOCK”: BULLDOGS FORWARD OFFERS INJURY UPDATE AHEAD OF ROUND 1

Western Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman is no certainty for Round 1 after suffering an adductor strain this summer.

While reports had Weightman in line for a return after completing a main training session last week, the small forward didn’t play in the club’s practice match win over North Melbourne.

Weightman says he hopes his adductor comes good before Round 1 to give himself the chance to be picked for the club’s season-opener against Melbourne.

“It looked like the boys gelled together really nicely (against North Melbourne) and the forwards filled their boots a bit, which is nice preparation going into the clash against the Dees,” Weightman told SEN Sportsday.

“I’m excited about (that game against Melbourne) even though I’m not a lock to be playing in it, I’m still looking forward to it.
“The adductor is coming along well, I think I’m starting to get on top of it which is good.

“They can be tricky these types of niggles, there’s no particular deadline like a broken arm where you know it’ll be healed at a certain time.

“I’m just being patient and letting it heal to come good when it feels like it.

“Hopefully that’s prior to Round 1 and I can be out there.”

While from the outside looking in a fit Weightman appears to be a walk-up starter for coach Luke Beveridge, the 22-year-old doesn’t share that mindset.

The energetic goalsneak says he doesn’t want complacency to creep in by believing a spot has his name on it as he feels that gives him an edge to compete hard each and every game.

“I’ve always tried to hold onto that mindset, even when I was pretty confident that my spot was going to be sustained throughout last year and a bit the year before,” Weightman said.

“I think going into games feeling like you have to play for your spot and you have to maintain that you’ve earned that.

“If you get complacent you get found out pretty quickly in the AFL, so going in with an edge and feeling like your spot is never secured and always earned is important for me.

“I think when we review my game that sort of comes out in my edits that I play with desperation.
“My teammates feel they can feed off that (energy) which is obviously good as well.”

Weightman will hope to be passed fit and be named to play when the Western Bulldogs face Melbourne in a Round 1 clash at the MCG on March 18.

[MrMahatma]

A fit Cody is pretty important to our team. Emphasis on "fit".

Hopefully we take a conservative approach so we have him fully firing for the majority of the season. Of course, hopefully he's 100% in a week and can play against the Dees.