High Performance Manager Ben Serpell gives this week’s Injury Report ahead of the side's Round 20 clash against Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday.

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Fresh off a 49-point win against the Eagles, Serpell was pleased with how the majority of the side pulled up.

"I think the boys really enjoyed going over a day earlier and getting on the time zone there, and it played out quite well," Serpell said. 

The VFL Tigers also competed in a scratch match over the weekend, giving players coming off the injury list some important football exposure.

03:16

"A few of our rehab boys went out and got a bit of footy exposure in a scratch match, so did Noah Balta. The boys came out of that really well," Serpell said. 

"We saw Harry Armstrong out there, getting some good gametime, and again, he is available this week, with Josh Gibcus also continuing his return to play, getting some good game time in that scratch match as well.

"Kane (McAuliffe) featured in that scratch match. He pulled up quite well for that, and we will see if he can get through training this week and hopefully make him available for this weekend.

"The upside to that scratchy as well was we were able to get some good gametime into Tom Lynch, so we can make sure he comes back in a couple of weeks fully prepared." 

Unfortunately, Seth Campbell has entered the concussion protocols due to a head knock in the second half of Saturday night's victory.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL INJURY REPORT.

01:32

Seth Campbell: Concussion, 1 week 

"Seth has entered the protocols for concussion under the guidance of our doctor Jim Brennan, so we are hoping that he will turn around in 12 days, but as with all concussions, it's hard to tell," Serpell said. 

"He should be available for Gold Coast in a couple of weeks."

Josh Smillie: Conditioning, 1-2 weeks

"Josh Smillie's conditioning is going really well," Serpell said.

"I said last week that he was going to be one to two weeks away, but I probably won't adjust that time zone this week because there wasn't a lot of footy opportunity.

"He will train fully this week and hopefully next week. There is a plane to Gold Coast next week (AFL and VFL double header). If not on that, then we will expect to see him out soon after." 

Kane McAuliffe: Quad, Test 

"Kane featured in that scratch match on the weekend," Serpell said.

"He pulled up quite well for that, and we will see if he can get through training this week and hopefully make him available for this weekend."

Mykelti Lefau: Calf, 2-4 weeks

"Mykelti is going ok," Serpell said. 

"He probably didn't train as well as he would have liked last week. I probably don't want to change his timeline just now."

01:45

Liam Fawcett: Foot, 3-5 weeks

"Liam Fawcett is out of his boot and walking around," Serpell said. 

"Hopefully, we see him starting some running today, and hopefully see him again in the backend of the year."

Thomson Dow: Patella, 2-5 weeks

"Thomson Dow hasn't really progressed with that knee," Serpell said.

"We will keep monitoring him and see how he responds clinically, and also expose him to a little bit more work in the gym.

"Hopefully his knee doesn't keep swelling, but unfortunately, I can't really update anything on him at the moment." 

Campbell Gray: Knee, 5-7 weeks

"Campbell Gray came out of his brace today, so we will expect him to be training a little bit later this week," Serpell said. 

"Hopefully it will be a bit of straight line running this week or early next week, and a bit of change of direction soon after.

08:58

Samson Ryan: Foot, TBC

"Samson is finally getting through a fair bit of work as he progresses to running, without any adverse effects the following day," Serpell said.

"We will look to increase his load over the next little while." 

Sam Lalor: Hamstring, season

"Sammy is a committed athlete, and he went through surgery last week," Serpell said. 

"According to the surgeon, everything went well. He has been at the Club today, and he is looking at things that he can already start to do, so we are expecting him to be fully fit and ready to train fully as pre-season starts in early November."

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Player Injury Estimated Return
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Knee Unavailable

Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.

Read Article
29. Jasper Alger

29. Jasper Alger

Ankle Unavailable

Alger has pulled up with some ankle soreness after the Round 21 VFL game.

Read Article
21. Noah Balta

21. Noah Balta

Toe Season

Balta injured his toe after an awkward landing during a contest in Round 19.

Read Article
22. Sam Cumming

22. Sam Cumming

Ankle/Shoulder Season

Cumming suffered a moderate grade syndesmosis injury in a tackle during Round 21. The ankle injury will not require surgery, but the Club will take the opportunity for him to go in and have his shoulder operated on.

Read Article
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

Foot Season

The Club sought specialist opinion regarding Rhyan Mansell's foot soreness leading into Round 21. Following their assessment, the Club has made the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Read Article
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Toe Season

Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.

Read Article
49. Kaleb Smith

49. Kaleb Smith

Quad Season

Smith sustained a quad strain in the July 19 VFL game.

Read Article
2. Jacob Hopper

2. Jacob Hopper

Ankle Season

Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.

Read Article
8. Jonty Faull

8. Jonty Faull

Back Season

Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.

Read Article
18. Josh Gibcus

18. Josh Gibcus

Knee Season

Gibcus sustained an ACL sprain in the VFL Round 5 game.

Read Article
16. Josh Smillie

16. Josh Smillie

Quad Season

Smillie and the Club are entirely focused on setting him up for a full pre-season.

Read Article
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.

Read Article
Injury: Knee
Est. Return: Unavailable
22. Sam Cumming

22. Sam Cumming

Cumming suffered a moderate grade syndesmosis injury in a tackle during Round 21. The ankle injury will not require surgery, but the Club will take the opportunity for him to go in and have his shoulder operated on.

Read Article
Injury: Ankle/Shoulder
Est. Return: Season
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

The Club sought specialist opinion regarding Rhyan Mansell's foot soreness leading into Round 21. Following their assessment, the Club has made the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Read Article
Injury: Foot
Est. Return: Season
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.

Read Article
Injury: Toe
Est. Return: Season
2. Jacob Hopper

2. Jacob Hopper

Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.

Read Article
Injury: Ankle
Est. Return: Season
8. Jonty Faull

8. Jonty Faull

Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.

Read Article
Injury: Back
Est. Return: Season

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