Collingwood have made a change to their selected side for Monday’s AFL game against Melbourne after Jamie Elliott was unable to complete training on Sunday because of hamstring stiffness.
Queenslander Adam Oxley, 20, will make his debut against the 17th-placed Demons at the MCG.
“He (Elliott) won’t play. We were leaving it until the last minute to make a call on whether we were going to play him or not,” Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley told reporters on Sunday.
“He’s a bit tight through the hammies.”
Buckley said the lightly built 191cm rookie had been playing wing/halfback in the VFL and possessed good high-marking and kicking skills.
Oxley is listed at just 78kg on the Collingwood website but Buckley says he’ll be given a chance to cement a spot in defence and could challenge for a key-position post when he adds muscle to his frame.
The Magpies, who have a 6-4 win-loss record in 2013, regain key forward Travis Cloke and Ben Sinclair for Monday’s clash while small forward Andrew Krakouer has been dropped along with Martin Clarke.