Hampson, Menegola will miss showdown
A fiery showdown involving two of the WAFL’s biggest off-season recruits has been avoided, with George Hampson and Sam Menegola both struck down by injury.
The talented duo had been due to line up for the first time against their old WAFL clubs as East Fremantle host premiers Subiaco at ATOM Stadium tomorrow.
But both players will instead be onlookers for the match of the round, with injuries disrupting their starts to the 2015 season.
Former Lion Hampson is expected to miss at least a fortnight with a grade-one ham-string injury sustained in the Sharks’ impressive round-one demolition of East Perth at Domain Stadium.
Menegola, who joined Subiaco during the off-season after being de-listed by Fremantle, is expected to miss up to six weeks with an ankle injury.
Hampson, 25, will have to wait until at least round 11 to line up against the club he helped lift to a premiership last season.
The enigmatic goal kicker walked out on Subiaco just four months after booting three goals in last year’s grand final win over the Royals.
A rift with the Lions football department is understood to be behind his decision to move.
Menegola was in a moon boot immediately after Subiaco’s 45-point win over Claremont last Saturday night, having first injured the joint at training a fortnight ago.
Scans earlier this week showed ligament damage, although the elite runner appears to have avoided a more serious syndesmosis injury.
The 23-year-old played 21 league matches for East Fremantle after originally being drafted to Hawthorn from the WAFL club.
Subiaco football manager Luke Sanders said the extent of Menegola’s problem had been a surprise given he had been running pain-free.
“There was no lateral pain, so we treated it as just a rolled ankle,” Sanders said. “We then obviously sent him for scans just to make sure and it came back with that diagnosis.”
The Lions expect to be strengthened by the inclusion of Matthew Boland (hamstring) and Brett Robinson (food poisoning). Premiership forward Chris Deluca is also likely to be right.
Lions coach Jarrad Schofield said he was happy with how the new recruits had settled in.
“They all want a taste of it,” he said. “I was happy, but there’s a long way to go.”
The availability of East Fremantle duo Jayden Schofield (calf) and James Bristow (hip) will hinge on the results of fitness tests.
