All the news as Geelong prepares for grand final rematch against Sydney
A Geelong veteran has named his replacements for Tyson Stengle and Rhys Stanley, while a defender stakes a claim on the track on Tuesday.
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Geelong veteran Mitch Duncan says “you can never replace individuals” but he has backed in Gary Rohan and Jonathon Ceglar to fill the gaps for two “key cogs” in Saturday night’s clash with Sydney.
Forward Tyson Stengle (broken arm) and ruck Rhys Stanley (fractured eye socket) both had surgery on Monday and are facing about a month out after they were injured in Geelong’s win over West Coast on Sunday.
The Cats have natural replacements ready to go, with Rohan due back from a one-week suspension and Ceglar ready to play after a VFL hitout last weekend.
Both players were early out on the track on Tuesday as Geelong enjoyed a relaxed hitout as the countdown to the Sydney match on Saturday night begins.
Defender Jed Bews also trained as he takes steps on return from concussion, with the premiership Cat eligible to return if he manages his way through concussion protocols.
Ceglar stepped in for Stanley in Geelong’s loss to Gold Coast in round 3, while Rohan has played in every game this year before his one-week ban.
“ (Stengle and Stanley) are key cogs in our system, we do get Gary Rohan back this week I am pretty sure,” Duncan said.
“He’s not quite a like-for-like with Tys but he is another goalkicker, which is pretty important.
“Big Cegs played pretty well in the VFL on the weekend so we have a replacement there but you can never replace individuals completely. We will have to keep working through that and that’s why we have the squad we have to cover the depth.”
The Cats are expecting a stiff test against the Swans in the first meeting between the sides since September’s grand final.
Duncan said that game – in which Geelong trounced Sydney by 81 points – would not be a factor in the game on Saturday.
“It is a completely different season and there is different personnel playing in the game,” he said.
“It is just a challenging game in the season as most games are. We are trying to get our brand of footy back to where we want to get too and there are a lot of learnings.
“Every contest against them is a challenging one, they are a well-drilled side with John there and his coaching staff.”
Early losses ‘not a shock’ to Cam Guthrie
Reigning Geelong best-and-fairest Cam Guthrie says it was “not a shock” his side dropped games in the opening three rounds and he believes the 0-3 start wasn’t solely down to the Cats playing poorly.
Eyebrows were raised when Geelong slumped to a 19-point loss to Gold Coast in round 3 to mark three defeats on the trot to start the season.
The Cats were poor in the Suns loss after playing well in a loss to Collingwood and running Carlton close in the opening two weeks.
To get the premiership defence back on track, Geelong comfortably accounted for lowly sides Hawthorn and West Coast in the past two weeks.
Guthrie said commentary around the Cats in the opening three weeks wasn’t always fair.
“AFL footy is not an easy game, I think people expect us to rock up and do it comfortably but in reality that is so far from the trust,” Guthrie said.
“We have an opposition that want to take that all away from us and are coached well and obviously talented players they want to succeed themselves.
“I saw some comments that we’re not playing well and all that kind of thing but I think you have to give the opposition some credit at times because they haven’t made it easy for us.”
Guthrie admitted he had taken in some of the criticism but it didn’t impact the Cats.
“Sometimes you hear them and acknowledge them but it doesn’t really change the way we operate too much,” he said.
“Coming into the season, we knew there was going to be a number of good teams who will challenge for the top eight and push for finals too.
“It is definitely not a shock that we have had a few losses because there are 18 really good teams and we are just one of those doing our best and sometimes it doesn’t necessarily work out.”
Guthrie said he thought Geelong “has some decent periods” in the past fortnight as an important stretch awaits, starting with a Saturday night clash against Sydney.
Stengle, Stanley set for surgery
All-Australian forward Tyson Stengle and premiership ruck Rhys Stanley are both facing a month on the sidelines as they head in to surgery as Geelong counts the cost of its win over West Coast.
Livewire forward Stengle broke his left forearm after he was caught in a tackle in the second quarter of a comfortable win over the Eagles.
He was subbed out for Brandan Parfitt and was sent for X-rays, which showed a fracture.
Stengle was initially checked out for damage to his wrist but the injury is higher up the forearm and should see him miss about a month.
The goalkicker is set for surgery this week.
Stanley copped a knee to the face late in the game and is due for surgery on Monday in Adelaide after he fractured his right eye socket.
An eye socket fracture can lead to a month out of the game but Melbourne defender Steven May returned after missing just one match when he suffered the same injury in 2021.
Jonathon Ceglar looms as the obvious replacement for Stanley ahead of Saturday night’s grand final rematch with Sydney after the veteran ruck enjoyed a solid performance in the VFL against Werribee on Saturday as he collected 19 disposals and had 28 hit-outs.
Electric forward Gary Rohan appears most likely to step into the forward line to replace Stengle after he missed the West Game due to suspension, while Parfitt, Tanner Bruhn and Sam Simpson will come under consideration.
Defender Jed Bews will also be available should he clear concussion protocols.
The injuries to Stanley and Stengle came at the wrong time for Geelong.
The Cats face a tough test in the next month, with a grand final rematch against Sydney on Saturday, before games against resurgent teams Essendon and Adelaide, and a blockbuster clash with Richmond.
Cats coach Chris Scott said his club was ready to test the depth of its list.
“ (Stengle) was looking really good, there is not a team out there that won’t have to endure these (injury) issues,” Scott said.
“The depth of your squad becomes a really important factor after that. no team can cover their really important players completely, especially the structural ones.
“It will test our depth a little bit, I am not sure of the numbers but there aren’t too many teams around the comp who are perfect in terms of availability at the moment. If they are that will change as the season goes on.”
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Originally published as All the news as Geelong prepares for grand final rematch against Sydney
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