Western Bulldogs pre-season 2011 news

[j959]

Just thought i'd get a Dogs pre-season news topic goin ...

Matthew Boyd gets nod, but Dogs hit by injury
[Source - Herald Sun online, dated 22 Jan 2011]

WESTERN Bulldogs defender Ryan Hargrave could be sidelined until Round 7 after aggravating a foot injury.

On the day teammate Matthew Boyd was confirmed as the club's new captain, it was revealed Hargrave had undergone a second round of surgery on the foot he injured last year.

"He (Hargrave) had a foot operation where he had a bone transplanted into his foot from his hip," coach Rodney Eade said yesterday.

"It was going along well, then he just had the lightest of runs and felt a little bit of pain. There was a little bit of a hot spot . . . but they decided to go back in and just put a plate over it, just to strengthen it. Obviously it will put him back a little bit, but it was more about being safe than sorry.

"So he probably should be able to play, we would think, by early May."
Eade said midfielder Adam Cooney (knee soreness) and defender Brian Lake, who had post-season surgery on his hip, knee and shoulder, would miss the opening week of the NAB Cup. But both are expected to be primed for the Dogs' Round 1 clash against North Melbourne on March 27.

Spearhead Barry Hall also missed yesterday's training session suffering conjunctivitis.

As predicted in yesterday's Herald Sun, Boyd, 28, got the nod as skipper ahead of Cooney and forward Daniel Giansiracusa, who were named as vice-captains.

Boyd, listed by the Dogs in 2002, said he hoped the team would play with a "hard-edge" under his captaincy.

JAMES Podsiadly will be available for Geelong's NAB Cup campaign after recovering from his off-season hip surgery.

The spearhead and youngster Mitch Duncan have both returned to main training after minor clean-outs on the joint.

[bolding added]

- also I left the Jpod and Mitch Duncan bits in ... i have no idea what they were doing in there as a random Cats notice ... I'll leave this for bunyip to post/research for the Geelong thread ...  ;)

Link at:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/matthew-boyd-gets-nod-but-dogs-hit-by-injury/story-e6frf9jf-1225992679671

[dylsta05]

wow great stuff j959, im really excited boyd got captain

[bunyip]

All these injuries they are getting are a bit of a worry :(

[MTTY]

Good stuff mate, the injuries are a bit concerning

[Bazinga]

Nice stuff j959.
I think I will be looking at Lake as an upgrade option. Might be a bit risky in the early rounds.