6 minutes ago, rpfc said:

Love Melky but I think we can still avoid having him as a tall atm. Especially coming back from injury.

Yeh for sure but I hope he’s not sent to the magoos all year. He’s too smart for that and has significantly more skill than them.

Shame his body is last used by date.

25 minutes ago, Dannyz said:

Been told Lukers acl is in tact but he needs a scan to confirm what has happened within the knee

Nathan Jones said he was in a lot of pain. Isn't it often said that the 'bad' knee injuries aren't so painful? So, maybe (🤞) 'not-so-bad' news?

https://wwos.nine.com.au/videos/afl/afl-news-2026-luker-kentfield-cops-a-knock-melbourne-demons/cmm4gghxx000d0hjphxlatis5

28 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Nathan Jones said he was in a lot of pain. Isn't it often said that the 'bad' knee injuries aren't so painful? So, maybe (🤞) 'not-so-bad' news?

Yes, as I understand it, the initial injury is painful, but as it often severs the nerve(?), the pain can be very short lived. From memory, when my son did his acl, he initially cried out in pain, but after that, was not feeling too much at all.

57 minutes ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

Is the Richmond player that whacked him going to get weeks or what?

Thought coat hangers went out of the game years ago.

The AFL said last season they will crack down on players who “make them pay” with blows to the head on opposition players in marking contests. Most cases deserve a free kick but in this case there was a serious injury forcing the player off the field. It was obvious Kentfield was incapacitated before he hit the ground. The punitive laws should be applied like with a dangerous tackle causing injury. Deserves a three weeks suspension.

On 26/02/2026 at 18:36, GawnOfTheDead said:

If they’re great chokers, what are we 😂

The 2021 premiers.

Saints one flag was…. Not recent

2010 choking? Last year? Year before. We’ve At least made finals and won a flag recently

Edited February 27Feb 27 by deejammin'

9 minutes ago, John Crow Batty said:

The AFL said last season they will crack down on players who “make them pay” with blows to the head on opposition players in marking contests. Most cases deserve a free kick but in this case there was a serious injury forcing the player off the field. It was obvious Kentfield was incapacitated before he hit the ground. The punitive laws should be applied like with a dangerous tackle causing injury. Deserves a three weeks suspension.

I’ve always been of the thought that it should be the action and not the outcome that gets punished.

1 hour ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

Is the Richmond player that whacked him going to get weeks or what?

Thought coat hangers went out of the game years ago.

Maggot was very reluctant with the whistle as well. You know free kick or play on, up until he was lying on the ground almost.

Some funny not 15 mtrs decisions as well.

1 hour ago, hardtack said:

I’ve always been of the thought that it should be the action and not the outcome that gets punished.

Me too. Thats not what the AFL has done over the last few years though.

I keep flip flopping on this one. The defender has to be allowed to contest the ball and it looked like a simple football accident.

In the flip side the defender didnt have good eyes on the ball and was just throwing his body and fist in the general direction of the contest. It was extremely clumsy and resulted in our player being hit it the head.

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

I fear the worst !!

The Doctor will tell him Caulfield's a bust and that while his knee is ok he will be training at Waverley Park.

9 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

The AFL said last season they will crack down on players who “make them pay” with blows to the head on opposition players in marking contests. Most cases deserve a free kick but in this case there was a serious injury forcing the player off the field. It was obvious Kentfield was incapacitated before he hit the ground. The punitive laws should be applied like with a dangerous tackle causing injury. Deserves a three weeks suspension.

4

11 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Where’s Melky in all of this?

As far as I can tell, he avoided body contact.

10 hours ago, picket fence said:

How can u know his ACL is ok without a scan ?????

There's certain movements and manipulations that can determine what is wrong with a knee. I saw a physio 30 years ago and he checked out my knees after I subluxed a kneecap. He thought I'd done my ACL until he checked the other knee and it did the exact same thing. If I remember correctly, he pulled my lower leg forward whilst holding my thigh still. If things move further than they should, or don't move when they should, there's a problem. (Or you are hypermobile, like me.)

The scans confirm things. Also ACLs often bleed, which fills the inside of the knee with blood and stiffens/supports it, so the above tests might not be as accurate as they could be.

9 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

The AFL said last season they will crack down on players who “make them pay” with blows to the head on opposition players in marking contests. Most cases deserve a free kick but in this case there was a serious injury forcing the player off the field. It was obvious Kentfield was incapacitated before he hit the ground. The punitive laws should be applied like with a dangerous tackle causing injury. Deserves a three weeks suspension.

I guess it will depend on which marble Dopey MRO MC draws from his bag of tricks.

Fingers and toes crossed for Luker. Looked nasty. Terrible luck for the kid who looked a certainty for Rd 1.

I'd be shocked if it wasn't an ACL. Wishing the lad the best for his recovery. Looks like a player.

4 minutes ago, smurf said:

I'd be shocked if it wasn't an ACL. Wishing the lad the best for his recovery. Looks like a player.

Why?

The motion didn’t look like an ACL injury at all plus dannyz (generally reliable) has said initial diagnosis is that the ACL is intact.

Edited February 27Feb 27 by FTB

Just now, FTB said:

Why?

The motion didn’t look like an ACL injury at all plus dannyz (generally reliable) has said initial diagnosis is that the ACL is in tact.

From my own personal experience in doing an ACL as well as having been around a lot of Amateur coaching teams and seeing others do similar injuries. Hopefully I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. I will wait for official confirmation.

12 hours ago, hardtack said:

I’ve always been of the thought that it should be the action and not the outcome that gets punished.

I think the action seemed to cause the injury though as he did seem dazed, despite passing concussion test.

Therefore, to my mind, it's a punishable offence.

As mentioned there is a test that can be done by physio / doctor which gives a good indication of injury. He would have had an x ray to rule out any fractures and in a few days when swelling goes down he will have a scan to confirm nature of injury. There didn’t look like that twisting motion that generally results in acl tears but more of an awkward hyper extension. Hoping for the best for him as he has had a run of bad luck and was looking a likely prospect for an AFL debut.

Did he have the scans done in Ballarat? If so, and from my experience of the health system here, we might not have results till Friday

13 hours ago, Dannyz said:

AFL club doctors can diagnose an acl tear with around 95% accuracy

Demonland posters go at 100% accuracy

My guess is out 4-6....

29 minutes ago, sisso said:

My guess is out 4-6....

Could be worse. Not a horrible outcome. Gives him time for his face to be healed up too.

It’s just so disappointing for Lukar and us Demons, he was really looking the goods for R1 and beyond.

Good Luck young Luker.