Houston sidelined; Scott identifies ‘unique opportunity' for Bombers

The Age

16-07-2025

'It's incredibly frustrating for everyone involved, but particularly the players,' Scott on Wednesday before the team's training session at the Hangar.
'I mean, it's hard not to be really frustrated, almost exasperated, just devastating seeing players like Nic Martin and Will Setterfield suffer really serious injuries … so that's on an individual level, but it's been a perfect storm of a whole range of different injuries all coming together at once.'
The Bombers lost Setterfield to a Lisfranc foot injury which requires surgery, while Martin is to undergo a knee reconstruction next week after tearing his ACL. Despite the circumstances, Scott said Martin was remaining resilient.
'I'm an eternal optimist, but it doesn't mean I don't get flat at times,' he said. 'And Marto [Martin] is a good example for us. Like, yes, he's optimistic, but he's also had some pretty dark moments. But he's been there before, and he knows the way out.'
When asked how the Bombers could avoid such a mammoth injury list next year, Scott said he was focused on the short term, but said the club would look at improvements.
'I have the utmost confidence in the people who are looking at our program and there's no doubt we will reallocate resources to that space because we know better than anyone this year just how important it is to get the players out and fit.'
Scott highlighted the extensive injury list opened up opportunities for other players, with tall forward Liam McMahon to make his debut Thursday after joining the club just weeks ago in the mid-season draft.
McMahon will be the 13th debutant fielded by the Bombers this season. That's equal with the struggling Fitzroy team of 1991 for the most debutants from an established club in a season.
Loading
'We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can get out and really grow through this adversity, and that that is really when you do improve,' Scott said.
'We weren't out to break any debutant records at the start of the year.
'You know, we're already a very young team to start the year, but when you have injuries, you get even younger ... but that's the situation we're in that presents a unique opportunity, and our fans get to see our future.'
Rioli answers Legends call
Cyril Rioli will pull on the boots again for a match at Marvel Stadium when he plays for the All Stars against Victoria in the return of the Legends match this year.
The charity match, held to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer through the Australian Prostate Centre, returns after six years. The clash honours the legacy of Footscray legend E.J. Whitten, who died from prostate cancer 30 years ago. The match will take place on Thursday, August 28, with Geelong great Gary Ablett jnr to also play for Victoria.
Rioli, 35, has kept his distance from the AFL since his shock retirement in 2018 after a glittering 189-game career in which he won four premierships and a Norm Smith Medal.
His relationship with his former club was ruptured by the Hawthorn racism scandal. In November last year, the club settled their Federal Court case with Indigenous former players and their families.
Hawthorn apologised to Rioli and his wife Shannyn, Jermaine Miller-Lewis, Montanah-Rae Lewis, Carl Peterson and Leon Egan for their experiences at the club, and reached a financial settlement after two days of mediation.
In May, Rioli was absent from Hawthorn's centenary celebration at the MCG. But later that month, during the Sir Doug Nicholls rounds to celebrate First Nations culture, Rioli attended the Hawks' match against Gold Coast at TIO Stadium as a guest of the Suns, watching his three-time premiership-winning cousin Daniel Rioli play for Gold Coast.
Hawthorn didn't know Cyril was going to be watching his former side until they saw the TV footage that night, with Seven's cameras capturing a moment between Rioli and his former premiership captain, turned commentator, Luke Hodge.
Loading
'It was just great to have Cyril back at the footy,' Mark Evans, the Suns chief executive and former long-term football boss at the Hawks, told this masthead in May.
Rioli and Hodge will be reunited on the field in the Legends match, although on opposing sides, with Hodge to lead Victoria. Tim Watson will coach the big V, while Nick Riewoldt will captain the All Stars, with Shane Crawford to coach.