MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 04: Cody Weightman of the Bulldogs celebrates kicking a goal during the round 16 AFL match between Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium on July 04, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The Western Bulldogs have confirmed small forward Cody Weightman will miss his side's Round 1 bout with Melbourne as he continues to battle a hip issue.
Weightman has missed a portion of the Bulldogs' pre-season program due to the injury, which will now see the 22-year-old sidelined for the start of the home and away season.
The Dogs confirmed on Tuesday that Weightman won't face the Demons as the clubs take a cautious approach to his recovery.
“After having a really solid pre-season, Cody experienced some groin muscle overload two to three weeks ago,” Head of Sports Medicine Chris Bell said in a club statement.
“These injuries can be notoriously volatile and persistent, so to make sure we prepare him for the long season ahead, we will need to be patient to wait for these overload symptoms to settle down.”
“We will look to confirm Cody's return to playing plan when he is symptom free.”
Weightman's potential replacement, uncapped forward Arthur Jones, has also been ruled out of the Dogs' season opener after sustaining a groin injury of his own.
Jones, a Western Australian product in his second season at the Kennel, was seen as a live chance to earn his debut in Round 1, however, will now likely require further time to recover before his first senior game.
“Unfortunately, after getting a taste of AFL football in the practice game against North Melbourne, Arthur Jones has suffered a groin muscle strain,” Bell said.
“This won't keep Arthur out for long, we are expecting him to be putting his hand up for selection in the first few rounds of the season.”
The Bulldogs are already without Ryan Gardner (elbow, 3-4 weeks), Tim O'Brien (hamstring, 4-5 weeks), Laitham Vandermeer (leg, 4-6 weeks), Roarke Smith (foot, 4-6 weeks) and Dom Bedendo (groin, TBC) for Round 1.
Meanwhile, Brisbane have ruled out veteran Dayne Zorko for their Round 1 clash against Port Adelaide after the former captain suffered a hamstring strain during the pre-season.
Zorko joins defensive pair Callum Ah Chee (quad) and Darcy Gardiner (ankle) in missing this weekend's matchup with the Power, with the trio to spend the next two weeks looking to prove their fitness.
“Dayne is training really well and has made significant progress, but we need to ensure he has the opportunity to get more training volume under his belt,” Lions High Performance Manager Damien Austin said.
“The priority is to have him not only 100% ready to play but 100% ready to continue to play once his season gets underway.”
Zorko, Ah Chee and Gardiner could be in the mix to face Melbourne in Round 2 should they be deemed fit.
The 34-year-old handed the captaincy reins over to Harris Andrews and Lachie Neale ahead of the 2023 season.