And the loser is… Josh Fraser (updated)

I reckoned there would be one big injury to come out of the Hall of Fame tribute match yesterday, it was just the sort of meaningless exhibition match that is primed for a big disaster to happen for no reason. Early doors it looked like the slipper would sink into Daniel Kerr, as he copped a nasty-looking kick to the shin in the first quarter and was promptly shipped off to hospital. Thankfully the scans came back negative so it looks like he won’t miss any more weeks than his current suspension. Craig Bolton will have a nice bruise after getting one in the scone from Robert Murphy in Q1 as well, but he ran the game out without problem.

However, that left the sword of Damocles hanging over the MCG, waiting to fall, and late in the last quarter the victim was Josh Fraser. The Collingwood ruckman limped off with what has turned out to be a slight tear to his medial ligament that radio reports place as being at least four weeks, if not six.

If you are among the 9,764 DT coaches or the 14,950 SC coaches to have Fraser in your side, of course, this is a tragedy. More coaches are actually going to be happy with this injury, however, because it will give much more time on ground to the Pies’ #2 ruckman Cameron Wood, who is a significantly more popular fantasy player this year (13,732/17,825). Collingwood face the Saints and Cats in the next two weeks, two sides which have big ruck problems of their own, so you would think Wood is going to increase his point production markedly over the slightly disappointing numbers he had put up previously in 2008. After that his opponents will be Dean Cox and Jeff White.

Most coaches have not made any trades in their rucks at all so far, and may not have one to spare on a simple cash cow harvest if they’re serious about their trade strategy for the rest of this injury-strewn season. If you are able to benefit from this injury then good luck to you.

UPDATE: AAP reports that prior to the scans on Monday, the Collingwood hierarchy are hopeful that the injury was a strain, not a tear, and the man himself has piped up saying he is hopeful of not missing any games at all. Given that the next game is on a Friday I doubt that would be true, but best case scenario is that he misses one. Then again, worst case scenario is still entirely possible.

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