Friday 13 August 2010
Mt Gravatt ace Nathan Gilliland will delay an operation on his broken wrist in the hope his side can go deep into the QAFL finals series and give him a chance of playing again, reports The Courier-Mail.
Gilliland, who won every individual honour the game has to offer in 2009, broke his wrist early in the 21-goal win over the Brisbane Lions Reserves last Saturday and it was expected that his season was over.
However, he is hopeful of playing again if his side can reach a preliminary or grand final.
“I’m going to give it a go,” said Gilliland, who leads the Vultures with 40 goals for the season as a midfielder-forward.
The Vultures will see for the first time what life is like without Gilliland, who had not missed any of the 56 games played since he joined the club, when they meet Southport in the game of the round at Fankhauser Reserve tomorrow morning.
The Sharks have injury concerns of their own, with mercurial forward Cameron Maclaren nursing a hamstring strain and ruckman Dean Putt something similar.
Putt left the ground early in last week’s 104-point win over the Western Magpies for precautionary reasons and will be given every chance to play, but his absence would be a bonus for the Vultures, who have young ruckman David Hill in career-best form.
Round 17 will have a huge bearing on the make-up of finals placings, with Southport hoping to win and for Labrador to lose in Darwin tomorrow, a city where the NT Thunder have lost just once in two years.
That would allow the Sharks to regain top place, although a reversal would see Labrador claim the minor premiership.
The Thunder have lost some of their home ground advantage by having to play at the Gardens Oval due to cricket commitments at Marrara, while Redland can snatch fifth place from them if they beat Broadbeach at Merrimac Oval. The Lions host Aspley at Giffin Park, while the Western Magpies face a tough contract at Morningside.
