North Hobart vice-captain Jack McCulloch suffers broken hand; could miss the remainder of TSL season
One of North Hobart's key players has been injured, and he may be out for the remainder of the season. Verify the specifics.
As a result of Jack McCulloch's broken hand, North Hobart's hopes of making the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade have taken a big hit.
The injury to the Demons forwards was confirmed by coach Adam Bester on Thursday. It occurred just 10 minutes into the Demons' round 13 match against Clarence.
He stated that Jack would be unavailable for a considerable amount of time.
"This has the potential to be the end of the season, and while that is disappointing for us, it does provide the opportunity for someone else to shine."
It is a bitter blow for the 22-year-old player who missed the majority of last season with a dislocated knee before returning this year to become a huge vocal point inside 50 for the Demons with 24 goals to his name. This year, he made his comeback and scored 24 goals for the Demons.
Although Bester acknowledged that his team would suffer a setback as a result of McCulloch's absence, he expressed confidence in their capacity to compensate for the loss.
He went on to say that both Spencer White and Nick Jackson are viable options for the tall forwards position.
"We can also go smaller inside 50, so we have a few options, so we will just see how it plays out on Saturday."
The Demons' midfielder Tyler McGinniss is still recovering from a concussion he sustained in the state game against Queensland earlier this month, so he won't be able to play in the crucial encounter against Kingborough.
"Tyler is still suffering from some minor headaches, so we won't rush him back," Bester said. "We won't take any risks and rush him back."
"We will make sure he is cleared, then make sure he gets some training under his belt, and then we will ease him back into it."
With a win against the league-leading Tigers crucial to keeping their playoff ambitions alive, skipper Callen Daly will play when he recovers from a hamstring injury.
"Cal will really build into the last six games of the season and hopefully finals, but we have some work to do," Bester said.
There will be animosity on both sides, so expect a war.
The Tigers players stepped up their game in the final quarter (against Launceston the previous week) and had some very important moments where they stood up and secured the victory; this is the kind of thing that successful teams do.
"Coming off of a two-week break, they were probably a little bit slow to get into it, but I'm not expecting that this week."