Roos hope for Motlop

[Whoskins]

Also expect Luke Livingston to be back sooner rather than later from his ankle surgery and Richard Tambling to debut in AFL this week or next after playing for Coburg last week

Dangerous Kangaroos forward Daniel Motlop is set to return to the field sooner than expected after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction during the pre-season.

In a significant boost for the unbeaten Roos, the 23-year-old has been earmarked for a return in round 13 after it was initially expected he would miss up to 16 matches.

"We could have him for nearly the second half of the year," Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley said on Wednesday morning.

"He's been fantastic in his rehab and his fitness work. It's probably a credit to him to where he's got at this stage."

Motlop and the club made the decision to have the full reconstruction after the elusive forward's shoulder dislocated three times during the pre-season.

The Roos are also hoping on having Drew Petrie available for the club's tough clash against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Saturday, after the key position player injured his left ankle early in the win over Hawthorn on Saturday.

"It will still be touch and go," Laidley said before training. "It's not his kicking leg and as long as he can run a little bit this morning - run a couple of laps - then we'll wait and see. We'll give him right to the death knock."

If Petrie is unavailable, the Kangaroos are likely to turn to young big man Hamish McIntosh to make his AFL debut.

"We want to give Hamish a game. But we won't be resting anyone. We'll be playing our best side."

"If Petrie comes up and the doctors give him the all clear - they're saying to me it's improved dramatically - we'll play him. And Hamish will have to wait another week but that's OK."

Youngster Blake Grima is definitely out for the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder during the win over Hawthorn.

"He's just really making his way in AFL footy. We're very disappointed as a club to lose a bright talent like that," Laidley said of the 20-year-old.

[injuryupdate]

Interesting that the Kangaroos have had a history of getting blokes back from shoulder recos in the same season (I'm thinking of Carey playing in the second half of the season hardly able to lift his arm).

In rugby league and union you only ever do a mid-season reco as a last resort and you wouldn't dream of playing a bloke after 16 weeks. Most of the rugby league and union recos are still done with an open technique as these are more solid, because the tackling load is huge. The AFL guys might be getting arthroscopic recos with a lesser recovery time, because they can avoid tackling a lot more and protect their shoulders.

[Chook Raffle]

Interesting that the Kangaroos have had a history of getting blokes back from shoulder recos in the same season (I'm thinking of Carey playing in the second half of the season hardly able to lift his arm).

In rugby league and union you only ever do a mid-season reco as a last resort and you wouldn't dream of playing a bloke after 16 weeks. Most of the rugby league and union recos are still done with an open technique as these are more solid, because the tackling load is huge. The AFL guys might be getting arthroscopic recos with a lesser recovery time, because they can avoid tackling a lot more and protect their shoulders.

Motlop isn't back yet, and should not be rushed. He is talented but he is not Wayne Carey.

My mail is that Tambling will definitely be in the mix this week - Tigers may as well give him a go. Players like him, Meyer and Deledio will be better long term if they get exposure now.