Fremantle forward Michael Walters will miss three to four weeks with a hamstring injury but defender Brennan Cox is finally ready to make his playing return.

Walters injured his right hamstring in the second quarter of Saturday’s 67-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Scans have revealed a low-to-moderate grade hamstring injury, with the Dockers expecting Walters to miss up to four weeks. 

Defender Heath Chapman, who was a late withdrawal from the match with hamstring awareness, has been listed as a test for Sunday’s clash with Gold Coast in Perth.

Cox, who underwent surgery in March to repair a hamstring tendon, will line up for Peel Thunder’s reserve WAFL side this weekend.

“It is really exciting to have Coxy back running out there,” Fremantle high performance manager Phil Merriman said in a statement.

“We will see him in the reserves and hopefully steeply rise to the AFL ranks.”

Carlton are waiting on the availability of Marc Pittonet (finger), Orazio Fantasia (AC joint), David Cuningham (calf), with the trio all listed as tests ahead of Friday night’s blockbuster against Geelong.

Adam Cerra (hamstring) is listed as being one week away. 

Geelong will welcome back veteran Patrick Dangerfield and Ollie Henry.

Dangerfield hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring in round seven, while Henry is also on the way back from a hamstring setback.

Cameron Guthrie is two weeks away from a return as he continues to recover from an Achilles tendon issue.

West Coast are expected to welcome back skipper Oscar Allen (knee) for Sunday’s encounter with Essendon at Marvel Stadium, but Tim Kelly (hip) is likely to miss a third straight game.

Liam Duggan has recovered well from his recent concussion and is expected to play, while Jayden Hunt (toe) is also on track.

Essendon could be bolstered by the return of ruckman Sam Draper (knee), Mason Redman (hamstring), Xavier Duursma (quad) and Ben Hobbs (calf).

Adelaide forward Taylor Walker, who has missed the past two games with a back injury, says he’s confident he will be available to play after the club’s current bye week.

Port Adelaide are hopeful of regaining Willie Rioli (calf) for Saturday’s crunch encounter with Brisbane. 

Brisbane midfielder Will Ashcroft, who ruptured the ACL in his right knee in July last year, is expected to return in either the seniors or reserves next week.

North Melbourne duo Griffin Logue and Colby McKercher will return to action this weekend.

Logue, who ruptured his ACL in round 17 last year, will return via the VFL.

McKercher will play his first minutes since earning a Rising Star nomination in round nine, when he sustained a foot injury against Gold Coast.

Co-captain Jy Simpkin (hamstring) could also return against Melbourne on Saturday night.

Pies cult hero among six Hall of Fame inductees

Brownlow medallists Dane Swan and Kelvin Templeton have been honoured for their glittering contributions to the game with induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

On a night when Hawthorn’s champion goal-kicker Jason Dunstall was officially elevated to Legend status, Swan and Templeton were named among six new inductees at Tuesday’s gala event in Melbourne.

Inaugural Adelaide Crows captain Chris McDermott, Indigenous speedster Michael Graham, West Perth great Ray Schofield and New South Wales pioneer Ralph Robertson were also acknowledged.

Much-loved by a legion of fans in the Magpie Army, Swan was a leader of Collingwood’s famous “rat pack” during their successful period under coaching legend Mick Malthouse and his successor Nathan Buckley.

Swan was at times criticised for not looking like a professional athlete, and courted his share of off-field controversy, but was a genuine star of the competition on the field.

The prolific midfielder was a key contributor in the Magpies’ 2010 premiership under Malthouse and won the Brownlow Medal the following season, with what was then a record 34 votes under the 3-2-1 system.

He was also an All-Australian in five consecutive seasons from 2009-2013 and won the Copeland Trophy – Collingwood’s best-and-fairest award – for three straight years from 2008-10.

Malthouse insists Swan’s approach to football behind the scenes belied his public persona, and was crucial to his success.

“Dane is the sort of player that gives the impression that he’s a bit loose … but he’s a very, very proud person. I can see the other side of Dane,” Malthouse said in a video tribute to Swan.

“What a lot of people don’t realise is he’d go into the altitude room, put the heaters on to 30 degrees, pump it up to nearly 4000m, he’d get on the running machine and didn’t publicise it, and come away knowing that he could get through a match with the speed and power that he could take on any tagger and anyone in the middle.

“That was his secret.”

Swan retired in 2016 because of a serious foot injury after 258 games in black-and-white.

Templeton won his Brownlow in 1980 during a brilliant stint with Footscray that reaped 494 goals from 143 games.

He won the Coleman Medal in successive seasons (1978-79) as the VFL’s leading goal-kicker and is a two-time Bulldogs best-and-fairest winner (1978, 1980).

Templeton captained the Bulldogs in 1982 before adding 34 games and 99 goals in a three-year stint with Melbourne, retiring in 1985.

He later served as the Sydney Swans’ chief executive officer from 1995-2002, and helped the club develop into an AFL powerhouse on and off the field after its shaky start to life in the Harbour City following the relocation from South Melbourne.

McDermott was a two-time SANFL premiership player and captain of Glenelg before being called on to lead the Crows for four years, starting with their inaugural AFL season in 1991.

He is a four-time best-and-fairest winner – three Glenelg (1986-1988) and one Adelaide (1992) – and also went on to coach North Adelaide in the SANFL from 1997-2000.

Indigenous Team of the Century member Graham is regarded as one of the fastest and most skilful players of his generation, known as ‘The Flash’, and was central to Sturt’s success in the 1970s.

A two-time SANFL premiership player, the half-forward flanker was also part of three NTFL premiership teams with St Mary’s.

Robertson, who was killed on active service in 1917, played a total of about 150 games for East Sydney and North Shore in NSW, captaining both clubs and winning a premiership with each of them.

He captained NSW at the national carnival in three separate years and also played 14 games for St Kilda in the newly-formed VFL in 1899-1900.

Schofield is a West Perth great, having played 277 games for the club and 21 times for Western Australia.

He played in two premierships with the Cardinals – as they were then known – in 1949 and 1951, and won five best-and-fairest awards in a career that spanned 16 years.

Schofield captained West Perth in 1952 and 1957-58, also coaching the club in his final season.

Dunstall’s elevation as the game’s 32nd Legend was confirmed in April.

A four-time premiership player with Hawthorn, Dunstall kicked 1254 goals in a glittering 269-game AFL/VFL career before injuries forced him into retirement in 1998.

Only Tony Lockett (1360) and Gordon Coventry (1299) are higher on the competition’s all-time list of leading goal-kickers.

Dunstall was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, as soon as he became eligible.

Pitch invader cops life ban

A fan who ran onto Marvel Stadium during the Collingwood-North Melbourne game and tried to re-enter the venue after he was ejected has been slapped with a lifetime AFL ban.

The man, who the league says is not a club or AFL member, ran onto the field during the last quarter of Sunday’s match.

He was ejected from the stadium and then was stopped when he tried to enter again through another entrance.

The league announced on Tuesday that he is banned for life from all AFL and AFLW matches, with the penalty to be reviewed after five years.

“Running onto the ground during a match is dangerous, senseless and unlawful,” AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said.

“As we reiterated earlier in the year, if you choose to do it you will have deal with local authorities and ultimately lose the privilege of attending AFL matches.”

The league said the man also received two penalty notices from Victoria Police.

Earlier this year, a man was banned for running onto the field during the round-two match between the Crows and Geelong at Adelaide Oval.

Last month, a Collingwood fan was banned from games for the rest of the year after he leaned over the fence and grabbed West Coast player Harvey Johnston.

with AAP