Pre-Season Round 3: The Washup

SUPERFOOTY LEVI Greenwood’s prognosis might not be as positive as first hoped, with the Collingwood recruit expected to miss “a fair bit” of the start of the season. Greenwood was subbed out of the Pies’ NAB Challenge clash with the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night after injuring his ankle while tackling Jarrad Grant. The Pies tweeted yesterday that the club was “hopeful of a positive outcome”. Magpies president Eddie McGuire said Greenwood would undergo more scans on Monday, but the prognosis could be worse than first thought. “I think it’s going to be a lot longer than Round 1. I think he’ll be out for a fair bit of the early part of the season,” McGuire told Triple M. After his team’s loss to the Bulldogs, Pies coach Nathan Buckley said Greenwood was “likely to miss weeks”. “We just don’t know how many,” Buckley said. Collingwood secured Greenwood from North Melbourne for pick 25 during last year’s AFL exchange period, after the left-footer came out of contract at season’s end. Greenwood’s departure came after a career-best season for the Roos, where he played 22 games, averaged 25 disposals per match and finished third in the club’s Best and Fairest count. He was also North’s best player in its memorable elimination final win over Essendon, booting one goal from 32 disposals.

SUPERFOOTY COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says he is less certain about his preferred midfield mix for Round 1 after a thrashing from the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night. Buckley confirmed new recruit Levi Greenwood was in doubt for the season-opening clash against Brisbane after hurting his ankle in the 61-point loss. “We don’t know how severe it is but bad enough for him to not be able to play on,” Buckley said. “We will have to go and assess that but he is likely to miss weeks, we just don’t know how many.” Buckley said the team “would have liked to play better” and was adamant the performance “was not a reflection of the way we’ve trained and prepared” this pre-season. But several spots remain open to be filled with the Pies scheduled to put up to 16 players through their paces in a VFL game against Richmond on Thursday. “There is obviously a bit of work to do between now and April 4 to make sure we present in better nick than we displayed this evening,” he said. About his first-choice midfield line-up, Buckley said he was “less settled than we were a couple of weeks ago”. Another new recruit, Jack Crisp, is being investigated for a bet he placed last season at Brisbane. Buckley said the new Pie “made a blue” and was “embarrassed about it”. “He has been really open and transparent on his misunderstanding of his obligations,” Buckley said. Western Bulldogs forward Lachie Hunter could be back playing in the first part of the season despite his betting scandal, according to coach Luke Beveridge. “I’m hoping something that we can hang our hat on decision wise will happen by early next week and that’s up to the AFL,” he said. "I think he (Greenwood) will be out for a fair bit of the early part of the season.” - Eddie McGuire