The Gold Coast Suns could be without Mabior Chol for round one of the 2022 AFL campaign after he picked up a hamstring issue on Monday night.
The Suns are priced at 11/2 to finish in the top eight of the AFL and play finals this season but they may have to start the campaign without Chol.
The Suns picked up a 23-point win over Geelong in Monday night's pre-season win but it came at a cost as Chol was forced out of the action.
The tall forward booted a goal in the first half but did not return after the break and was spotted on the bench with ice on his hamstring.
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Speaking to reporters after the game Suns coach Stuart Dew admitted the player was taken off as a precaution but could not say whether he would be right for round one.
The Suns face the West Coast Eagles on 20th March and Chol now faces a race to make it.
"I guess when there's the word tight, you're in doubt until scans, and hopefully get hat ticked off," Dew said. "I think we're the last game in round one, so we've got a little bit of time.
"There's no need to test him now and our main session will be Friday week, so there's a bit of time there."
After losing Ben King for the season following a knee injury, the Suns are working on a new-look forward line, and Dew was happy with a lot of what he saw against the Cats.
"We created opportunities. I wouldn't say we were efficient, but if we're looking at lots of entries inside 50 and then trying to capitalise, we'd rather that problem than how we get it in there," Dew added.
"We're still reshaping that forward line and we're not sold or set on something at the moment. It might take a little while to work out what's the right mix."
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