Ruck woes worry Bombers ahead of Cats clash

Shayne Hope | July 10, 2023

Essendon are facing a potential ruck crisis ahead of the blockbuster AFL clash with Geelong as Andrew Phillips comes under scrutiny for a high bump on Adelaide’s Reilly O’Brien.

First-choice ruckman Sam Draper is likely to remain sidelined for the fifth-versus-eighth showdown at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night as he attempts to overcome a hip issue.

And a suspension for Phillips could force the Bombers to call on eight-game tall Nick Bryan to shoulder the ruck load against Cats premiership veteran Rhys Stanley.

Phillips ran past the ball and made contact to O’Brien’s head with a bump in the final minute of Essendon’s impressive win over the Crows.

O’Brien was not seriously hurt in the incident.

Phillips will learn his fate on Monday when the league’s match review officer delivers his assessment.

“We want our ruckmen to shepherd and I haven’t looked at it in detail on whether he got him high or not, but the impact didn’t look huge,” Bombers coach Brad Scott said.

“We’ll let the MRO take care of that.”

Bryan has played just two games this season – most recently against Fremantle in round 15 – and was substituted out of both.

The 21-year-old was on the emergency list against Adelaide.

Cult hero Draper has missed all three of Essendon’s games since the mid-season bye and there is still no clarity around his return to action.

“The goal is just to build him up to main training and then we can have an accurate assessment of when he’ll come back,” Scott said.

“But I can’t see it being this week.”

Essendon will almost certainly have to seek cover for important defender Jordan Ridley, who suffered bone bruising when he hyperextended his left knee in a marking contest against the Crows.

The Bombers on Monday said scans have confirmed Ridley avoided serious injury, though he is rated just an “outside chance” to play against Geelong.

Mason Redman is likely to feature after Scott hosed down concerns over the star defender’s hamstring issue, saying he “should be fine”.