Melbourne gave 23-year-old forward Liam Jurrah, leave to return home to the Northern Territory to deal with family matters. The Demons forward returned “to support his family and community through a challenging period”.
Jurrah has since been arrested and charged for an alleged machete attack. A tribal feud erupted in violence that left a 35-year-old man with serious head injuries. Melbourne has sent a member of its player welfare department to Alice Springs.
Western Bulldogs defender Tom Williams has had exploratory surgery to determine the extent of damage to his dislocated shoulder, which popped out after he landed heavily following a marking attempt in Sunday’s game against the Blues at Etihad Stadium. Carlton defender Jeremy Laidler had surgery this week and will be out of action for up to six weeks because of a dislocated kneecap, after suffering the debilitating injury in a one-on-one contest during the same match.
The Blues expect to regain forwards Jarrad Waite and Andrew Walker, onballers Chris Judd and Mitch Robinson and defender Nick Duigan for Saturday’s round-three preseason cup game against Brisbane at Maroochydore. Carlton’s best defender Michael Jamison trained at Visy Park last Monday morning and is on track to overcome a back injury to play in round one against Richmond at the MCG on March 29.
Hawthorn youngster Alex Woodward, will require a knee reconstruction, sidelining him for the entire 2012 season, medical scans confirming he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the first quarter of Saturday’s pre-season win over the GWS Giants in Launceston.
