In today’s AFL Briefing, your daily wrap of footy news: New ruck rules mean Geelong’s Shannon Neale will alter his method. Hawks will appeal Jai Newcombe’s ban for a careless tackle on Dog Ed Richards. Christian Petracca’s burning question for Daniel Rioli when he arrived at Gold Coast. Geelong star Shannon Neale has revealed he feared the worst when he clashed knees with Carlton’s Marc Pittonet, revealing the new ruck rules mean he will now adjust the way he jumps at centre bounces.
Neale, 23, has been cleared to play in the club’s season-opener on Friday night against the Suns on the Gold Coast, but only after CT scans and an MRI ruled out a possible posterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee.
Neale said on Monday there had also been fears of a “little hairline fracture”, but it was later diagnosed as bone bruising.
Big relief: Shannon Neale (centre) has revealed he had a CT scan and MRI after he was hurt in a ruck contest with Carlton’s Marc Pittonet last week. Credit: AFL Photos
“It was a bit of a corkie and bone bruise. It wasn’t straight through the nerve, so it sort of gave me a dead leg. I pulled up well the next day and yeah, it’s really, really good now,” Neale told this masthead.
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Asked if he had feared a serious PCL injury, Neale replied: “Yeah. I have never done my knee. You hear stories of, you can run in a straight line but, as soon as you t
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