Dons lose Wright ahead of crunch AFL fortnight; Tigers ditch ‘fully ticketed’ status for Dreamtime

Essendon have lost ruckman Peter Wright to a knee injury ahead of a crunch three-match period against lowly Richmond, West Coast and Carlton.

Dons coach Brad Scott confirmed that Wright would miss at least one game after scans confirmed he sustained knee ligament damage in Sunday’s 43-point loss to Fremantle.

“Yeah, it’s not good,” Scott said on Fox Footy.

“In the first quarter he actually got a knock in the knee in the ruck…he managed to play out the game under some duress, but the scans have shown a bit of PCL and MCL damage.

“He definitely won’t play this week. We’re hopeful it’s only a couple of weeks.”

The injury blow came as club legend Matthew Lloyd warned the Bombers are in “crisis”, outlining concerns over Scott’s future as coach heading into a crucial time for the beleaguered club.

The Bombers (1-9) face Richmond on Friday night in a Dreamtime clash between the bottom two sides on the ladder, before taking on West Coast in Perth.

“It’s a big fortnight for them,” Lloyd told the AFL website.

“I’d hate to think what happens, in terms of for Brad Scott, if they are to lose to Richmond because I just think that’s a win that they’ve just got to pencil in and win.

“That will just show them where they’re at both internally and externally as a club.”
– Scott Spits and AAP

Tigers ditch ‘fully ticketed’ status for Dreamtime

A crowd of more than 70,000 is forecast for Friday night’s Dreamtime at the ’G clash between fallen giants Richmond and Essendon after the Tigers reversed an earlier decision to make it a fully ticketed match.

The AFL prediction of 72,000 comes with both clubs rebuilding their lists and occupying the bottom two spots on the ladder with a 1-9 win-loss record.

To make matters worse, the Tigers are struggling to name 26 fit players. Football boss Tim Livingstone checked last week with the AFL about the process if they needed to call on state league players for reinforcement.

The Bombers lost to Fremantle in front of a paltry MCG crowd of 25,100 on Sunday, while Richmond suffered a 36-point loss to St Kilda in front of 31,000 fans at Marvel Stadium.

The Dreamtime match was initially the only Richmond home game slated to be fully ticketed this season.

“Initially, due to high demand of Dreamtime at the ’G matches, this game was deemed fully ticketed to ensure all fans could enjoy the blockbuster experience,” the Tigers said on their website.

“The club, in conjunction with the AFL, has since decided to open this game to general admission walk-ups.”

Footy fans complained early in the season about paying extra for a reserved seat if they were not seasonal reserve seat holders, amid inflationary pressures on household budgets and escalating fuel costs.

Last year’s Dreamtime match attracted 76,051 people, down from 79,359 in 2024. The lowest post-COVID crowd was 70,226 in 2022.

Richmond are certain to make one change after defender Campbell Gray hurt his hamstring against the Saints, but if necessary they could make as many as four changes and still name a team of 23 and three emergencies.

Mykelti Lefau, Samson Ryan, Jasper Alger and Kaleb Smith are all likely to be available for selection. Tom Sims is nearing a return via the VFL, but the Tigers are still determining his return to play schedule.

Nick Vlastuin was not cited by the match review officer for a dangerous tackle on Saint Ryan Byrnes.

Byrnes received a free kick but his head did not hit the ground and played on.

Luke Trainor (dislocated finger) and Sam Grjl (corkie) are both expected to be fit.

Steely Green had a scan on his thumb on Monday, but the Tigers expect him to be available, too.

One day, two games: AFL locks in double-headers

Carlton and St Kilda will launch the 2026 AFLW season with a double-header at Marvel Stadium featuring both the women’s and men’s teams for the annual “Spud’s Game” on August 9.

The bold play to start the 11th AFLW season was confirmed by the league’s executive general manager of football Laura Kane on Monday.

The event is the first of five double-headers set to take place while the AFLW and AFL seasons overlap. The women’s game between St Kilda and Carlton will start at 4.35pm, before their round 22 men’s match at 7.20pm.

Double-headers have their lovers and their haters; some argue they give the women’s game greater spotlight in front of a larger and different audience and a chance to play in bigger, better venues.

However, critics argue only the most diehard footy fans are willing to sit in a stadium for six hours, risking a poor crowd for the curtain-raiser.

“Success looks like lots of people coming, lots of people watching, the players integrating, and fans of these two clubs seeing both of their teams at Marvel Stadium back to back,” Kane said.

”I was asked a few things by the players, our captains in particular … and they wanted to play rep footy, they wanted to play double-headers with the boys, and they wanted to play in stadiums like this one [Marvel], so they have to come up with a few more things for us to get our skates on with the next year.”

The fixture announcement comes in a big week for AFLW, with coaching changes locked in at Hawthorn and Richmond and the league confirming there will be an AFLW v Ireland representative footy clash on August 1.

With 46 Irish players across the AFLW competition, the game will marks the first AFLW representative fixture since the Victoria played the Allies in 2017.

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