Geelong injury list: Handful of Cats available as Cam Guthrie, Jack Martin passed fit

Geelong is in for a welcome boost, with a host of key Cats passed fit. But Bailey Smith only trained briefly. Get the full injury update here.

An injured Patrick Dangerfield leads his Cats off the field after a domination of Port Adelaide in Round 10. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Geelong defender Lawson Humphries is expecting a “fiery” reunion for Bailey Smith with his former side as a host of Cats are set to return from injury this weekend.

Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie confirmed a handful of players are available for selection, headlined by star defender Tom Stewart.

It comes amid intrigue around Smith after he appeared briefly at training on Tuesday before completing his own indoors session, with the former Bulldog left off the club’s injury list.

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Forgotten duo Cam Guthrie and Jack Martin are set to return through the VFL for their first official appearances in 2025.

Dual Carji Greeves medallist Guthrie has played just one VFL game since round 10 last season after being plagued by a troublesom achilles blow, while the Cats have cautiously built Martin up given his history with soft tissue injuries.

Cam Guthrie of the Cats during todays training session . Picture: Michael Klein

“We are looking forward to welcoming back Cam and Jack via the VFL on Friday when we take on the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval. At this stage both players are set to play managed minutes,” Mackie said.

Stewart has missed the past three games due to knee soreness and appeared to move well on the track on Tuesday.

Ruckman Rhys Stanley was named as an emergency for their win over the Power but has been listed as available on Geelong’s injury list, as has young midfielder Mitch Knevitt who has been sidelined with a plantar fascia issue for the past month.

Skipper Patrick Dangerfield, who will miss 1-2 weeks with a low-grade hamstring strain, jogged from the ground relatively comfortably during the session.

Jack Bowes will miss 2-5 weeks after scans on Monday afternoon confirmed he had suffered a right hamstring strain who pulled a hamstring against the Power, gingerly jogged.

Jhye Clark collected 22 disposals in the VFL but has entered concussion protocols following the clash and will unavailable for selection.

While the Cats have managed to overcome top-eight sides in Hawthorn and Collingwood in recent weeks, Round 11 at Kardinia Park shapes as arguably Geelong’s biggest test of the season.

The Dogs annihilated the Bombers by 91 points on Saturday, despite several of their biggest stars sidelined with injury.

Humphries said with Mitch Duncan set to play his 300th, and Smith coming up against his former team, it promised to be a season-defining match.

“I feel like there’s a lot riding on the (game),” Humphries said.

“There’s a lot going on obviously surrounding the game ... it’s going to be pretty full on either way.

“Whether ‘Baz’ is antagonising people or not, I think it’s going to be a pretty fiery game anyway.”

The Dogs are one of the form teams of the competition and have beaten the Cats at home the past two encounters.

However, the Round 23 match in 2023 saw Geelong rest a number of its best players – injecting rookies Ted Clohesy and Toby Conway into the mix – while the likes of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Rory Lobb had big games at either end of the park in a 47-point win in July last year.

“They’re in really good form so we’re going to have to be playing really well to match that,” he said.

“The Doggies are going really well.

Bailey Smith has become an early favourite for the Brownlow. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“There’s always going to be a bit of fire with the game because they’re two teams, really proud teams ... they’ve beaten us the last two times we’ve played here.

“We’re obviously going to be pretty revved up.”

Meanwhile, Humphries clarified he copped an elbow from Brody Mihocek early in the match against Collingwood in Round 8, which led to him missing the following week against the Giants with concussion.

While he felt fine at the time, he began to experience a few symptoms of concussion later in the game.

“I didn’t think much of it and the game was really close,” he said.

“As soon as we came off it was pretty much straight to the doctors.

“They did all the check ups and stuff and I passed it all on the ground at the time.

“It was a hard one, I felt like they did everything they could, I just came forward and they felt like it was enough to rule me out for a week ... it was the right thing to do.”

Originally published as Geelong injury list: Handful of Cats available as Cam Guthrie, Jack Martin passed fit