Veteran Goldstein ready to grab Bombers’ ruck spot
Oliver Caffrey |
Essendon coach Brad Scott has declared veteran ruck Todd Goldstein ready to step up for the Anzac Day blockbuster following season-ending injuries to Nick Bryan and Sam Draper.
After Bryan hurt his ACL in Gather Round, Draper suffered a ruptured achilles six days later in Friday’s win against West Coast.
Bryan and Draper had been operating in tandem until last week, with 36-year-old Goldstein effectively acting as a ruck coach.
But Scott, who also coached Goldstein for a decade at North Melbourne, has full faith in the 329-gamer stepping up to face red-hot Collingwood in front of more than 90,000 people on Friday.
“He’s ready. He’s always been ready,” the coach said.
“Even the decision to play (Peter) Wright ahead of Goldstein last week wasn’t as cut and dry as it may have appeared.
“Goldy’s got an incredible attitude.
“A big part of his role at this football club is developing (Vigo) Visentini, Draper, Bryan, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to play.
“He’s always said ‘I’ll do what’s best for the team and when you need me I’ll be ready’.”
Scott said the club was “shattered” for Draper, who is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
“It’s always really disappointing to lose any player to a long-term injury, but it’s especially difficult given ‘Drapes’ has worked really hard over the last couple of years, fighting through injuries that have hampered his progress and development,” he said.
“But he’s worked so hard over the last 12 months to get over those to get into peak physical condition and really play the best footy of his career.”
Skipper Zach Merrett is confident Goldstein’s “old legs” can step up against Pies big man Darcy Cameron and lift the Bombers after the deflating injuries.
“Every club has their injuries at certain times or different times throughout the season. Obviously, you try and play next man up,” Merrett said.
“We’re very fortunate to have Todd, who’s played 330 AFL games, sitting in the background, ready to go.
“We’ll go to work on him (Cameron) and I’m sure it’ll be a great duel in the ruck.”
Essendon could be boosted by the return of important forward Kyle Langford, who has been out since hurting his hamstring against Hawthorn in round one.
Langford trained on Tuesday, with Scott saying if he pulled up well after the session he “suspected” the 28-year-old would be selected to face the Magpies.
Essendon’s forward line would be suddenly far more threatening after Wright made a stunning six-goal return against the Eagles.
The Bombers’ 2022 best-and-fairest was dropped towards the end of last season and has battled form and injury issues over the past 12 months.
“Pete’s had no shortage of challenges thrown his way over the last two years, and I thought he was the most influential player on the ground on the weekend,” Scott said.
“He didn’t know for sure when his chance was going to come and we certainly didn’t want the opportunity to come the way it did through an injury to another player, but he grabbed it.
“It’s a great lesson for our players.”
The Bombers’ tall stocks took another hit on Tuesday, with defender Jayden Laverde offered a two-match ban for headbutting Port Melbourne’s Jimmy Miller in the VFL.
AAP
