Demon debutant Lukas Cooke and tough Bomber Archie Roberts have succumbed to injuries in the second quarter of Saturday afternoon's clash at the MCG.
Mid-Season draftee Cooke suffered facial injuries after clashing heads with Bomber Ben McKay. The feel-good debut story of the Woodville-West Torrens product unfortunately did not make it to the main break.
McKay returned to the field of play with his head strapped, but Cooke was not so lucky.
Minutes later, Roberts, in attempting to tackle evasive Melbourne superstar Kysaiah Pickett, saw his shoulder dislocate upon an awkward landing. It's a huge blow for the Bombers, with Roberts one of few shining lights in a season currently defined by the 16 names populating their injury list.
Uncompromising at the contest, an accumulator of the pill and a classy distributor, Roberts' absence will be felt.
Compounding matters, Roberts conceded a shot on goal in his tackle attempt, which caught the electrifying Pickett high.
Archie Roberts has been ruled out of the game following this incident.#AFLDeesDons pic.twitter.com/JmoASTLZZU
— AFL (@AFL) June 13, 2026
Pickett is one of a handful of Melbourne needle movers exerting their will on the contest. He and Max Gawn are continuing to push their All-Australian cases with exemplary performances. Pickett has three majors and 16 touches at the time of writing. Both are the most on the ground. Gawn has two goals, to go with 18 hitouts and 14 disposals. Trent Rivers and Tom Sparrow are also among the game's best as the Demons lead the Bombers by 41 points at the long break.
