38 NT NEWS. Tuesday, June 26, 2012. www.ntnews.com.au PUB: NT NEWS DATE: 26-JUN-2012 PAGE: 38 COLOR: C M Y K 1080127v4 SPORT l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l ntnews.com.au FOOTROT FLATS Slater buzzing for Origin From Back Page but Slater is likely to remain in Melbourne under the supervision of the Storm medical staff, with a final call to be made on Friday. Meninga said he had lots of options if Slater were ruled out: ‘‘It just adds to the mire of trying to come up with the right decision,’’ he said. ‘‘We just have to make the right decision for the benefit of the team.’’ The likely Queensland squad is: Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis, Justin Hodges, Brent Tate, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Ca- meron Smith (c), Petero Civoniceva, Nate Myles, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Matt Gillett, Dave Tay- lor, Ben Hannant, David Shillington, Dane Nielsen, Ben Te’o and Matt Bowen. Season over for Clark FOOTBALL By MARK STEVENS Mitch Clark MELBOURNE was last night hopeful forward Mitch Clark would be fit to resume training in early November after a rare foot injury cut short his season. Clark, the shining light in a dark season for the De- mons, suffered a Lisfranc tear to his right foot against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday. A severe Lisfranc in- jury ended Haw- thorn premier- ship hero Trent Croad’s career, but Melbourne hopes Clark’s is on the lower end of the scale. His injury may require surgery with the club set to meet specialists today. ‘‘The plan is we want him to be right for the start of the pre-season,’’ Melbourne foot- ball manager Josh Mahoney said last night. ‘‘Tomorrow he’s got a couple of more scans and we’ll work out ex- actly what the course of ac- tion is from then. ‘‘It will either be an oper- ation or just rest in a moon boot. It will depend on the size of the tear.’’ Sports medico Dr Peter Larkins last night described the injury as the ‘‘most sinis- ter of the foot sprains’’. ‘‘When you talk about re- turn times, it is unpredict- able,’’ he said. Larkins said six months was a realistic time out of the game, surgery or not. Lisfranc injuries are most commonly caused by excess- ive impact to the mid-foot, around the delicate metatar- sal bones. If Clark has surgery, it is likely pins will be inserted to help the foot heal. Clark landed heavily in the second term against the Giants and hobbled from the MCG after also copping a head knock. ❏ Brisbane midfield star Simon Black can avoid an AFL suspension despite a striking charge. Black was charged with striking Bulldogs tagger Liam Picken in the third quarter of the Lions’ win at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. But the low-grade nature of the charge means Black can escape with a reprimand and still play against Melbourne at the Gabba on Sunday, if he pleads guilty and accepts a penalty discount. The only other charges laid from the weekend’s round re- lated to a melee in Sunday’s clash between Melbourne and GWS. Demons Nathan Jones, Daniel Nicholson, Mark Jamar and Brent Moloney and Giants Tomas Bugg, Taylor Adams, Toby Greene and Dylan Shiel all face fines. Talented young touch footballers Justin and Caitlyn Costello have been selected to attend a national training camp in Sydney this weekend Picture: JUSTIN SANSON Siblings a touch closer to playing for the green and gold TOUCH By GREGOR MACTAGGART HUMPTY Doo siblings Ju- stin and Caitlyn Costello will move one step closer to the green and gold when they at- tend the Touch Football Australia national team camp being held in Syd- ney this weekend. Justin, 19, earned selection in the 20s Boys squad, while Caitlyn, 16, was picked in the 18s Girls squad. Both were rewarded for fine performances at the Nat- ional Youth Championships last September and the 2012 National Touch League in Port Macquarie. The national camp allows selectors to finalise their teams ahead of the Youth Trans Tasman Test Series against New Zealand, to be played in February 2013. Justin, who is a qualified plumber, has represented the Territory from under-12 level upwards and is excited about pressing his national claims. ‘‘I was pretty stoked when I found out,’’ he said. ‘‘Mum rang me at work and told me the letter had arrived.’’ Caitlyn, who is studying Year 11 at The Glennie School in Toowoomba, will be on light duties at the camp as she recovers from a seri- ous knee injury sustained at the nationals in March. ‘‘I did my ACL while play- ing for South West Queens- land Swans, so I’ll be doing rehab . . . and hopefully I’ll be back playing in October or November,’’ Caitlyn said. Like Justin, Caitlyn has been a regular Territory jun- ior representative and last year earned selection for the Queensland under-16 team’s tour of New Zealand. Touch football has been a major part of both their lives for many years. Justin first took up the sport at the age of 11 after his interest was piqued by watching his mum, Tressa, and dad, Peter, in the Darwin Touch competition, while Caitlyn followed her broth- er’s footsteps as a 10-year-old.