PROMISING forward Ben Casley could be ruled out of the TAC Cup finals after sustaining a serious injury in the Western Jets' disappointing 28-point road loss to the Gippsland Power at the Morwell Football Ground on Saturday.
The 18-year-old from the Williamstown Juniors took no further part in the game when he left the ground clutching a dislocated shoulder in the second quarter.
The versatile medium-sized link-up player has caught the eyes of recruiters since moving forward in the second half of the season.
Jets' coach Steven Kretiuk fears the worst for one of his rising stars.
"He's been dominating up forward for us," he said.
"We lost an important avenue to goal and could not get the ball into the forward line with purpose. I doubt we'll get him back this year."
The Jets gained a valuable insight into a Power team they could face in week one of the finals in a fortnight.
The visitors fumbled with their hand disposal and several players clearly were not switched on mentally.
The Power's incessant pressure was too much to handle for the Jets as the hosts ran away with the game after quarter-time.
"We kept turning the footy over by hand and that's unlike us," Kretiuk said.
But should the two sides meet again in an elimination final, don't write off the Jets.
Kretiuk will use the loss to scan through the video and see where his side needs a lift.
"The good thing is some guys get to see where they're at and where they need to improve," he said.
"As a coaching staff we need to address some of the issues we were poor at on the weekend."
The Jets welcomed back the tough-tackling Jordan Mead.
The young midfielder returned after a month out with a torn bicep and impressed.
"He was outstanding with his pressure, his tackling and his work rate," Kretiuk said.
"He's been awesome for us all year."
Mitch Turnbull, a young defender from the Altona Vikings, did a lockdown role on the Power's danger forward Dean Macdonald.
Macdonald booted six goals a week prior against North Ballarat Rebels and was rarely seen on this occasion.
Jaxon Cooke was another of the Jets to step up with three goals, taking his record to 10 in his past three games.
The forward has a bit of something special to suggest he could be a game breaker for the Jets in the finals.
"He's a bottom-age player with heaps of upside to him and you don't have too many players with that X-factor about them," Kretiuk said.
"He's a smooth mover across the ground, but I've spoken to him about this. He needs to get himself cherry ripe because he's someone that can turn a game."
The Jets have a bye in the last home-and-away round before the finals.
■Young midfielders Will Hoskin-Elliott and Elliot Kavanagh have been included in the AIS/AFL Academy squad.
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