Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd has raised major doubts over whether Collingwood should risk playing both Bobby Hill and Jeremy Howe in Saturday’s AFL preliminary final against Brisbane. The superstar Pies pair have both had extended stints on the sideline but came through last Friday’s main training session in a bid to press their cases for selection.
Hill has made just one AFL appearance in the past three months due to personal reasons and that was a sub appearance in round 15, making his return for a crunch prelim clash unlikely. While Howe (adductor injury) has suffered a number of setbacks with injuries and illness that have limited his game time this season.
Speaking on Nine’s ‘100% Footy’ on Monday night, Lloyd said it would simply be too big a risk for Collingwood coach Craig McRae to pick both players for the prelim clash against the Lions. The Essendon great said ‘nine out of ten times’ he would pick the fit player if he was a coach, but said having two players going into such a big game on limited preparation would be a mistake.
“Bobby Hill has played one full game in 86 days and Jeremy Howe has played one full game in 79 days,” Lloyd said. “So this is the risk, you can’t play two of them. That’s where the sub is a bonus but if you’re going to go with one of them, you can only go one.”
McRae has been in regular dialogue with Hill about his off-field issues and has been holding out hope of the Norm Smith Medallist returning for the finals series. But Hawthorn legend Jordan Lewis said before Collingwood’s qualifying final win over Adelaide that Hill didn’t deserve to take the finals spot of a teammate who’d been involved all season.
“I don’t think he deserves to play, is my opinion,” Lewis told Fox Footy. “I think everyone who commits themselves, wholeheartedly, week in week out, every minute of the day to become a player in a finals series – I think they deserve the spot over a star player coming in who has been ill-disciplined throughout the season.”
Bobby Hill ‘unlikely’ for Collingwood return in prelim final
Collingwood veteran Steele Sidebottom admitted this week that he was unsure whether Hill had done enough to justify selection for the prelim. Hill has lost match conditioning during his prolonged absence and it’s understood Collingwood view a potential comeback for the Norm Smith Medallist as ‘unlikely’ for this weekend.
Jake Niall of The Age reported on Monday night that: “Sources familiar with the Hill situation…felt that he was less than likely to be picked. Conversely, veteran defender Jeremy Howe is likely to be selected for the clash.”
Sidebottom had earlier said: “I’m not sure, to be honest. I think his last kind of block he’s been much more consistent in what he’s been able to do. He’s proven to be able to perform on the big stage. Whether he has done enough work, I’m not too sure… it’s not really my call. But I think we’ve seen what he can do, and if he’s (good) to play then he’ll add some flair and stuff to our game.”
Hill was a standout for Collingwood in their 2023 grand final win over Brisbane, and would give the Pies a dangerous new dimension if selected. While Howe has been a rock in defence for Collingwood when he’s featured and it came as little surprise that the Pies’ late-season dip in form coincided with the veteran’s absence.
“I guess they’ll both be putting their hand up,” Sidebottom said about the pair. “It’s a matter of coaches and the fitness staff, if they think they’ve done enough work. I’m confident that if they’re confident in themselves, that they’ll be able to get through. But I’m not making the call, but it’d be nice to see them out there.”
Brody Mihocek looked sore last Friday but Sidebottom was optimistic he could also feature against the Lions. “Clearly, he wasn’t 100 per cent but I suppose we’ve had a bit of time, and probably didn’t need to rush it as well, give him a little bit more time to rest it,” he added.
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