CO-CAPTAIN Jack Viney is available and ready to go for Melbourne’s first elimination final against Geelong Cats at the MCG on Friday night, while ball-winner Dom Tyson remains a genuine chance.
Elite performance manager Dave Misson confirmed Viney, who has been sidelined with a toe injury, had done everything possible to play his first match since round 16.
And Tyson, who suffered a broken arm against GWS Giants in the final round of the home and away season, is right on track to be available.
Bernie Vince, who will retire at season’s end, and tough-nut Dean Kent, who both have AC joint injuries, are still chances to play this year, if Melbourne’s pushes deeper into the finals series.
Youngster Oskar Baker (hamstring) is one match from resuming, while rookie Lochie Filipovic (hand) is still three to four weeks away.
Key forward Jesse Hogan (foot), defender Jake Lever (knee), speedster Billy Stretch (toe) and midfielder Corey Maynard (season) are out for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Misson said goalkicker Mitch Hannan, dasher Jayden Hunt and high-flyer Joel Smith all came through the VFL unscathed.
“They got through fine. Joel had a bit of a corky at the end of the game, so we took him off as a bit of a precaution, but the other two guys got through really well,” he said.
Misson’s assessments
Oskar Baker (hamstring) – 1 week
“Oskar’s tracking really well in rehab. He’s probably a week to 10 days ahead of schedule, so we’re looking to set him up for a return to play in the VFL prelim, which is next weekend.”
Lochie Filipovic (hand) – 3-4 weeks
“Lochie’s starting to get a bit more range in that hand. He’s starting to get involved in a little bit more ball work. He’s doing some good running out on the track, but he’s still a few weeks away.”
Jesse Hogan (foot) – season
“Jesse is coming in and really ticking off his rehab. He’s doing some decent upper body weights and some off-legs conditioning. He’ll be out of the boot in about five or six weeks’ time.”
Dean Kent (AC joint) – 2-3 weeks
“Kenty, with that AC joint, we didn’t go down the surgical option, but it’s starting to improve slowly. He had a run outside today, which was good, and he’s starting to get more and more range. So, we’ll just track his improvement over the next week, as to how quickly we want to progress that.”
Jake Lever (knee) – season
“Jake is going well. He’s starting to do more cross-training on his knee and is doing a lot of strength work in the gym. All things going well, he’s probably looking to have an initial run in about three weeks.”
Corey Maynard (hip) – season
“Corey’s going very well. He’s starting to do some skill work – kicking on that right leg – and doing some good running, so we’re really confident he’s going to be ready to go come pre-season.”
Billy Stretch (toe) – season
“Bill actually got a couple of surgical opinions on that toe. Initially, we were going to go down that conservative management line, but Billy’s actually having surgery today (Tuesday) to repair that injury. We felt that was the best option, as did Billy. We’re hoping the surgery goes well and we’re looking to get him going pre-Christmas.”
Dom Tyson (arm) – test
“Dom at our main training session, essentially got through everything. He did some extra work at the end of training to test the arm out with tackling and being tackled, and getting up and down off the ground. It’s probably a bit about how he pulls up tomorrow (Wednesday), but we’re pretty confident that he’s going to be available.”
Bernie Vince (AC joint) – 1-2 weeks
“Bernie was crook on the weekend, so he missed that session on Saturday, but he came in by himself on the Sunday to catch that up. He’s going really well and he saw his surgeon yesterday (Monday), who pretty much gave him the green light to potentially play next weekend, possibly in the VFL, but depending on how things go. Bernie’s wanting to be really aggressive with his rehab and return to play, so we’ll see how that goes from session to session.”
Jack Viney (toe) – available
“Jack did most of the session on Saturday and did all of the session today (Tuesday) with the AFL. So, he’ll be available for selection.”
Melbourne injury list: first elimination final
Oskar Baker (hamstring) – 1 week
Lochie Filipovic (hand) – 3-4 weeks
Jesse Hogan (foot) – season
Dean Kent (AC joint) – 2-3 weeks
Jake Lever (knee) – season
Corey Maynard (hip) – season
Billy Stretch (toe) – season
Dom Tyson (arm) – test
Bernie Vince (AC joint) – 1-2 weeks
Jack Viney (toe) – available
