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Fresh setback for Melbourne tall Harrison Petty

The Demons’ forward woes have been dealt another blow.

Published by
Mitch Keating

Melbourne's forward line has taken another hit, with defender-turned-attacker Harrison Petty suffering a foot injury in Saturday's clash with North Melbourne.

A tackle from Roos defender Ben McKay on Petty during the third term saw the latter's left foot caught under McKay, twisting in the tackle and causing the Melbourne player to require help off the Blundstone Arena surface.

In the hands of medical trainers on the sidelines, Petty underwent further testing before being moved into his club's rooms. Melbourne soon made the call to sub Petty out of the match, bringing veteran defender Michael Hibberd into the game.

Petty was later spotted at ground level wearing a moon boot on his left foot.

Speaking after the win, coach Simon Goodwin said Petty was unlikely to play next week and potentially further.

"It's a bit of a concern for us, he's got a mid-foot injury," the Demons coach said.

"I'm not 100% sure what it is, fingers are crossed, but it's looking like he could be out for a little bit of time at the moment.

"We'll get that scanned and make sure we get the full assessment of it. He's probably unlikely for a little while."

The setback will only add to a mixed past month for the Demons and Petty, who missed his side's Round 19 clash with Adelaide after suffering knocks to the ribs and being subbed out of the prior to matches.

He would make his return last week against Richmond and would kick a career-high six goals to aid Goodwin's selection woes in attack.

Goodwin has been forced to chop and change his forward line over the course of the season, with the premiership coaching recently making the call to move from a two-ruck system to only relying on skipper Max Gawn, seeing star recruit Brodie Grundy demoted to the VFL.

The move came weeks after leading goal threat Bayley Fritsch was ruled out for close to eight weeks with a foot injury sustained in Round 16, leading to a drop in efficiency in the forward half for the Demons.

Brodie Grundy during Melbourne's open training session at Gosch's Paddock, Melbourne in 2022 (Photo by Cameron Grimes/Zero Digital Sports)

Petty's injury could open the door for a Grundy return, with the former Magpies left to play just a pair of VFL matches in the past month as Casey have been scheduled for two byes in as many as four weeks.

Young forward Jacob van Rooyen has been tasked with leading Melbourne's attacking third, while Jake Melksham and Christian Petracca have offered some spark since being moved into the forward line.

2023-08-06T03:10:00Z
Blundstone Arena
NMFC
71
FT
103
MELB
Published by
Mitch Keating