AFL 2024: Geelong assistant coach James Kelly gives update on returning stars, best-22 plans and young guns
Two Geelong premiership stars are tracking nicely after injury-riddled campaigns. Plus, their assistant coach sheds light on their young guns and possible Esava Ratugolea replacements.
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Geelong assistant coach James Kelly said premiership stars Cameron Guthrie and Jack Henry are building nicely ahead of the season after injury interrupted 2023 campaigns.
Guthrie was unsighted at senior level after round six last season after a troublesome toe injury that required surgery, while Henry’s luckless run continued with another foot setback late last season.
Henry went under the knife to repair his Lisfranc ligament after three separate injuries on his other foot in the previous 12 months, with the swingman restricted to 25 games in the past two seasons.
The 25-year-old joined the main group after the Christmas break as he targets an injury-free campaign and is improving with each session according to Kelly.
An extended pre-season has helped freshen up the Cats after a season marred by setbacks to key players and Kelly said that’s been a far cry from the numbers on the track heading into 2024.
“We just look at how many players we have available for training on any given day and that’s always been really high this pre-season, so for someone that doesn’t know much about that stuff that is what I can judge it off. We don’t have a lot of guys in rehab but if they are they are sort of in and out relatively quickly, which is a good sign for the group,” Kelly said.
“(Henry) looks good, he has been really happy. He did have a few problems and had some surgery and all that sort of stuff but his prep, giving him the time that he has had to prep has been just a nice steady build.
“We feel really confident about where Jack is and he’s feeling confident and every season he looks better, feels better, moves better. We’ve still got a bit of time to get through but at this stage we are pretty comfortable with where he is at.”
Kelly said last season was a frustrating campaign for Guthrie, who made a return through the VFL at the end of 2023 but wasn’t risked in the senior line-up.
He said the club’s 2022 best-and-fairest winner is progressing well and
“He looks really good. He is unbelievably professional, unbelievably diligent,” Kelly said.
“A really long year for him, had a niggly injury that he couldn’t get over and there was a time there where he might have got back and that’s sort of the worst time to be in as a player when you’re in flux – maybe you’re going to get back, maybe you’re not.
“He has come back training really well, looks good to my eye, I’m not a medical professional but he’s happy at training and he’s one of those older players who has come back fresh, happy, helping the younger players which is all you can ask for.”
CLARK AND CONWAY
Geelong fans didn’t see much of top-10 draft selection Jhye Clark in his first season due to injury.
Ruckman Toby Conway was a similar story in his second year at Geelong, sidelined for some of the season before a strong run of VFL form saw him make an encouraging AFL debut in round 24.
While there is plenty of hype surrounding the young talents, Kelly was coy on their round one chances and said the club is placing no pressure on either of them this season.
“Jhye specifically hasn’t had a great prep for the last couple of years, he has been a bit unlucky, a few problems that are a bit unavoidable,” Kelly said.
“We are excited about what he can bring to the group as well, we don’t want to put any expectations on him in terms of, ‘we’d love to see x or y out of him going for the season’, but in terms of who he is as a person and a player, we are just excited about him getting a clean run at it.
“I think Conway is maybe in a little bit of the category of Jhye Clark, he is just enjoying being out there. He has had a few niggles, he’s been in and out a little bit.
“He’s a big lump of a lad so he’s carrying a bit around the ground but he’s happy that he’s out there training, playing some good footy and he’s another one that we don’t want to put a ceiling on what he’s capable of or what he can do.”
Clark looks a tantalising SuperCoach option at $123,900, but maybe don’t slot him into your side just yet.
BEST 22
Who will fill the hole in defence left by Esava Ratugolea?
Working closely with the Cats defence, Kelly believes Ratugolea’s spot can be filled from within by the likes of Jack Henry, Jake Kolodjashnij and Sam De Koning with the possibility of lining up with smaller backline.
“Down back with the defenders Jack Henry missed a bit of footy, ‘Kola’ missed a bit of footy. So did (De Koning), he was sort of in and out a bit,” Kelly said.
“We’ve lost ‘Sav’ who is a great person and a good player, but hopefully those guys all stay fit and we should be pretty sound after that. That’s one of the things we are sort of still looking at, do we play a bit of a smaller defence, bit of a smaller forward line, we’re not sure so we’ll just have to have a look at it.”
Whether that defence contains Tom Stewart full-time remains to be seen.
The vice-captain told this publication this month that the Cats have enough midfield armoury without him being thrown in there, but Kelly is excited by the prospect of Stewart in the guts.
“I’d love to see it. I spend a fair bit of time coaching the backline and it is maybe a bit counterintuitive for me to say that Tom Stewart shouldn’t be there, but I think he can only benefit the team,” Kelly said.
“He is big, he is fit, he is powerful, having him around the ball, if you can somehow manufacture having him and Pat around the ball at the same time, they’re pretty hard to defend.”
But there is still plenty to play out as to who will line up against St Kilda in round one, with a scrimmage against Carlton and a practice match against Essendon to come.
“I wouldn’t say (we will make) major changes, the honesty of that situation is we aren’t sure yet either. We’ve still got a bit of pre-season, we’ve got the game against Carlton, the game against Essendon so we always like to think it is a bit of an evolution of our team constantly,’ Kelly said.
“We like to think that the team in round one is different to the team in round 24 (last year) as well, so what we want to be able to do is give everyone the opportunity to put their best foot forward, whether that is a first-year player or an older player that is closer to the end.”
And they’ve also been keeping tabs on other sides, with Hawthorn down at the Cats’ occasional training venue of Waurn Ponds Deakin University on Monday.
“We might have had a few little peepers out there having a look at them but I think it is good that another team comes down here. It’s good for us, good for the game I reckon, everyone spreading out a little bit. I’m happy for them that they got to enjoy what is Geelong and the Surf Coast.,” Kelly said.
NEW FACES
Kelly has been impressed by all of Geelong’s first year players.
He has had a fair bit to do with Cats’ top draft choice Connor O’Sullivan and he feels he has fitted in seamlessly.
He has seen all the traits from Stephen Wells and co’s scouting report and said that he felt like a “Geelong person” from the moment he walked in the door.
“He’s just an impressive kid. We heard in the lead-up to the draft that he had good leadership qualities, he is tall, athletic, he can take a really good mark, all those sort of things in his draft report, we haven’t seen anything to suggest otherwise,” Kelly said.
“He is a really good learner, he is a conscientious kid but also really determined. Really wants to be the best he can be and those guys feel like a bit of a fort as a coach because you don’t really have to do much.
“You’ve sort of got to let them go, guide them along the way and they sort of take care of themselves. He’s been really impressive as a person, one of those guys who comes in and just feels like a Geelong person really quickly.”
The Cats assistant coach also highlighted Barwon Heads bolter Oli Wiltshire as a player who has come on in leaps and bounds since joining the club.
“First year players, I think they are all going really well. Oli Wiltshire sort of got picked from nowhere down from Barwon Heads and we’re really impressed with what he has been able to do, Mitch Edwards has been really great, George Stevens is good, he is a really determined and driven kid, Connor obviously is really athletic and brings something different to the team as well.
“Where those guys end up fitting in the 2024 season we don’t know, but we don’t ever want to say there’s a ceiling on them as people or them as performers.
“I can see why (Mannagh) got picked up. We sort of watched his year last year, how impactful he was at VFL level. He’s got good speed, he’s got a good head on his shoulders, he understands the game really well.
“It’s a bit of a different beast being at an AFL club full time, he has had to move and all that sort of stuff but he just looks a part of the organisation really quickly, looks like he belongs, a great learner, wants to learn, wants to get better which is all we can ask for.”
Originally published as AFL 2024: Geelong assistant coach James Kelly gives update on returning stars, best-22 plans and young guns
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