Armagh footballer Amy Mulholland has officially been ruled out of Saturday’s do or die AFLW Semi-Final for the Fremantle Dockers away to the Adelaide Crows following concussion protocols.
The Forkhill forward is a regular starter in Fremantle’s starting 16 but left the field early in the fourth quarter of their thrilling elimination final victory at home to Essendon last week after landing on her head and neck.
“Amy had a pretty heavy fall from a marking contest in the last quarter,” Dockers High Performance manager Corey Morris explained.
“She fell into our concussion protocols (and) was cleared of any serious injuries.
“At the moment she’s just resting and recovering because it was quite a heavy concussion, and we’ll progress her back once she’s ready to enter the protocols.”
Fremantle coach Lisa Webb put a line through Mulholland’s name overnight.
“It’s obviously unfortunate. (Mulholland) has been a really important player for us this year, but she won’t play this week,” Webb said on Tuesday
Donegal’s Amy Boyle-Carr could be the only Ulster woman to feature in this week’s semi-final with the winners going through in the second preliminary final (last four) away to reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions next week.
The Crows, who finished fourth on the regular season ladder above Fremantle in fifth, have won hosting rights to the fixture at Norwood Oval.
The match will be the first time Fremantle has featured in a semi-Final since the inception of the 18-team AFLW competition in 2022.
The last occasion the two teams met was in week two of the home and away season in September when the Crows demolished the Dockers 6-39 at Fremantle Oval in Western Australia.
Three-time Ulster champion Amy Boyle-Carr was left out of the Crows squad for their qualifying final defeat to the premiership favourites North Melbourne last week after being dropped in the final round of the regular season.
Three-time All-Ireland winner Orlagh Lally is expected to be available for Fremantle.
In the second semi-final Mayo defender Aileen Gilroy and Galway’s Aine McDonaugh will feature for Hawthorn against Port Adelaide at Ikon Park in Melbourne.
The winner will face unbeaten premiership favourites North Melbourne in the first preliminary final next week.
The Hawks finished second on the regular season ladder but lost their qualifying final to Brisbane last week. They will start favourites against Port Adelaide who are in their maiden AFLW finals campaign.
In other news Tipperary’s Anna Rose Kenney has left the Geelong Cats to return to Ireland for personal reasons.
“While it is unfortunate for us and our football program to farewell Anna-Rose, we acknowledge the massive sacrifice that all Irish players make to play in Australia,” AFLW assistant footy manager Brett Johnson said.
Elsewhere, Meath All-Ireland winner Vikki Wall has been handed a £125 fine ($AUD250) for rough conduct in North Melbourne’s qualifying final victory against the Adelaide Crows.
