Magpie Macaffer's season in doubt

19 Feb 2012, 11:38 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Collingwood will find out about midfielder Brent Macaffer's knee injury on Monday, but the news is unlikely to be good.

Collingwood are expected to discover the worst possible news about midfielder Brent Macaffer on Monday, lengthening the AFL club's already long list of injured and unavailable players.

Macaffer left the field during the Magpies' NAB Cup opener against the Western Bulldogs in Blacktown on Saturday night with a suspected torn anterior cruciate ligament.

He will undergo scans on his knee, and if the injury is confirmed, the 22-year-old will be out for the season with a reconstruction looming.

Last year's grand finalists already have Alan Didak (groin), Ben Johnson (hamstring), Ben Reid (shoulder) and Harry O'Brien (hand) on the injury list, though all are expected to be short-term absentees.

Small forward Andrew Krakouer is on four weeks' leave for personal reasons, and doubts remain over when he will return to the Magpies' set-up.

New Magpies coach Nathan Buckley admitted Macaffer's season looked finished before it starts.

"Unfortunately Brent Macaffer has more than likely done his ACL, which is a poor result for us," Buckley said on Saturday night.

"He has had a fantastic pre-season. He has put himself in decent nick as every AFL footballer needs to give themselves a chance.

"We hope for the best but we expect the worst."

But Collingwood put aside their problems to win both their matches against the Dogs and a surprisingly competitive GWS.

The Giants, who lost to the Magpies by three points, also pushed the Bulldogs before losing by five.

In Friday night's three-sided contest, Hawthorn, Richmond and North Melbourne had a win each.

But Tigers youngster Reece Conca may find himself the first player in 2012 tribunal trouble on Monday, after an off-the-ball incident which left North's Leigh Adams heavily dazed.

On Sunday night in Perth, West Coast posted wins in both matches against Essendon and Fremantle at Subiaco.

Fremantle impressed in their first official hitout under new coach Ross Lyon, smashing Essendon by 36 points.

Hayden Ballantyne was exceptional in a new midfield role, while youngster Lachie Neale belied his small stature with two goals and an all-action effort.

The Bombers were earlier beaten by an impressive Eagles side by 21 points, with forward Gerrick Weedon providing the early spark with two goals and stamping himself a contender for the vacancy created by Mark Le Cras' season-ending knee injury last week.

But the Eagles smothered Fremantle in the final clash of the night 0.4.6 (30) to 0.1.4 (10) - Eagles ruckman Dean Cox kicking two goals.

After their shortened, three-sided contests, all teams involved in this weekend's matches play full length second-round matches in a fortnight.

The other nine teams play their opening three-sided contests this coming weekend.

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