MELBOURNE is treading carefully with the health of first-year player Oscar McDonald, as he continues to overcome a groin injury.
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Yet to make his AFL debut, McDonald did not play for Casey Scorpions at the weekend and his selection this week will once again depend on his fitness.
Melbourne’s elite performance manager Dave Misson said the club was careful to take an extra cautious approach with McDonald, given the toll a full season can take on a first-year player.
“Oscar's groins just fired up a little bit last week but nothing too serious and he pulled up and ran pretty well yesterday,” Misson told Dee TV.
“Again, we're conscious of these guys falling off the cliff at the end of the season, so we will just monitor Oscar this week and make a decision later in the week as to whether he plays this week or not. If not this week then he will definitely play next week.”
McDonald, younger brother of teammate Tom, has played 11 games for the Scorpions (Melbourne’s reserves) this season.
Casey meets premiership contender Box Hill Hawks this week in one of the Scorpions most important matches for the season.
They currently sit in eighth position, two wins and some healthy percentage ahead of ninth-placed Port Melbourne.
McDonald joined the Demons last year, taken at pick 53 in the national draft, ironically the exact same pick his older brother was taken with four years prior.