AFL News for the week ending April 2, 2023: Pies suffer ruck and roll, Clarko V Mitch and Sainters make it three from three
Ruck dilemma for Pies
While Collingwood nutted out a win against the Tigers in Friday night footy, it came at a cost.
Star ruckman, Darcy Cameron, was subbed out in the third quarter with the Pies unsure at the time about the extent of his injury.
Sadly for Pies fans, the news wasn't great the following day when it was revealed the side could be without him for up to eight weeks.
This means that, with Mason Cox stil unavailable due to a rib haematoma, and no Brodie Grundy, some of the up and coming young rucks will have to step into the hole Cameron's absence will create.
What will it mean for the Pies going forward? Will their early season 2023 surge come to a grinding halt?
Watch this space.
The master meets the apprentice
There was a lot of hype going into yesterday's game in Launceston which saw Sam Mitchell's fledgling Hawks come up against the seemingly revived North Melbourne Kangaroos, now being coached by ex Hawks legendary coach, Alistair Clarkson.
Few gave the Hawks any chance of winning, even at their adopted UTAS stadium home ground, after the last two weeks of smashings care of the Swans and Bombers.
And most were salivating at the prospect of what might occur when Mitchell came up against Clarko given the way the latter left the Hawks back in 2021.
But there were no political fireworks between the two, just the desire to win the game, something the Hawks were able to harness more effectively than the Roos, who admittedly went in undermanned as their star LDU was a late out.
Regardless, full credit to Mitch and this young side for bouncing back from some horror losses and putting at least one win on the board for 2023.
Saints mark 150th with a 3-0 start to season
Could the Saints have asked for a better way to celebrate their 150th than by racking up a hat trick of wins to kick off their 2023 season?
Prodigal coach, Ross Lyon, seems to have injected new life into the side, and while their wins have so far been against sides you'd expect them to be a chance against, you can't fault their effort and enterprise.
What is great to see about the Saints is that they have stood up to challenges with an injury-depleted side, although unfortunately their injury list was added to in their game against Essendon when they lost Jimmy Webster with a facial injury from a head clash and Mason Wood finished the match on the bench.