Hawthorn are headed to Tasmania for Saturday's clash with Fremantle, but star Cyril Rioli is instead venturing to the Northern Territory for family reasons.
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The Norm Smith medallist is among the high-profile absentees for this weekend's games, a list which includes struggling Collingwood recruit James Aish, who was dropped for the Magpies' match against his former club the Brisbane Lions.
While the Hawks have regained premiership stars Sam Mitchell and James Frawley, Rioli won't make the trip to Launceston, joined on the outer by the omitted Kieran Lovell.
Hawthorn football operations manager Chris Fagan explained Rioli's situation. "Cyril is out due to a family illness, which has required him to return to the Northern Territory for a short period of time. The club fully understands why Cyril needs to do this – family always comes first," Fagan told the club's website.
Fagan said both Frawley and Mitchell were ready to return from their respective ailments. "They were both close to playing last week.
"With the extra week, Sam's calf has cleared up, and James is fully cleared of the effects of his concussion. It was our expectation that they'd be back – and they are."
Despite his omission, Lovell had done little wrong, according to Fagan. "We're really pleased with Kieran's progress, but with Sam Mitchell coming back it made it hard to keep him in the team. He's a bit unlucky to miss out, but he's now got two games of experience and hopefully more to come as the season progresses."
The winless Dockers have rested veteran Matthew Pavlich for the match, while experienced pair Zac Dawson and Michael Barlow have been dumped. Clancee Pearce, Ed Langdon and Zac Clarke are recalled to face the Hawks (5-2).
After another week in the spotlight, the Magpies have made three changes for Saturday night's Gabba date with the lowly Lions. Both Ben Reid (shoulder) and Tim Broomhead (ankle) have failed to recover from injuries suffered in last weekend's loss to Carlton, with the pair joining Aish as absentees for the journey to Queensland. In better news for Nathan Buckley's side, Travis Varcoe, Ben Sinclair and Taylor Adams are named to return from injury.
The Lions have lost skipper Tom Rockliff (hamstring) and tall backman Harris Andrews (foot), who are replaced by Daniel Merrett and Lewis Taylor.
Essendon have made four changes for Saturday's match against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. Patrick Ambrose, Kyle Langford, Darcy Parish and Conor McKenna are recalled, with Courtenay Dempsey (hamstring), Jonathan Simpkin (hamstring), James Gwilt (rested) and Shaun.McKernan (quad) missing out.
Geelong have included Jed Bews and Cory Gregson to replace Lincoln McCarthy (ankle) and Nakia Cockatoo (knee) for Friday night's blockbuster against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. The Crows have made just one change, with Wayne Milera replacing David Mackay (hamstring).
West Coast have axed underperforming speedster Lewis Jetta for Sunday's match against St Kilda in Perth. The Saints lose veteran Sam Fisher to soreness and have dropped Darren Minchington.
Melbourne lose Dean Kent (back) for Sunday's match against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. The Bulldogs will be without key defender Marcus Adams (finger), but have named the untried Bailey Williams in their 25-man squad.
