Geelong Cats injury updates: Brandan Parfitt to have surgery, Tom Stewart avoids broken jaw
Geelong’s midfield will have to shuffle the decks with Brandan Parfitt set for a stint on the sidelines and one durable Cat could be called upon again to plug the gap.
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When Tom Stewart went down and the Cats stopped in their tracks after quarter-time on Friday, it was clear the star defender was Geelong’s most important player.
But fellow VFL graduate Tom Atkins has quickly become Geelong’s new Mr Fix-it and with Brandan Parfitt wounded, the pen-pusher-turned-handyman will be called upon to plug another gap.
As tough as they come on the field, Atkins spends one day a week as an accountant off it, but he may as well wear fluoro when he steps past the white line.
The ferocious Atkins was on the tools in the past three weeks as he was flipped into a new role into the midfield and performed strongly against Port Adelaide and Adelaide, where he put the clamps on with an outstanding 17 tackles.
In Friday night’s crunch win over the Western Bulldogs, Atkins was Geelong’s best onballer before being sent back to defence when Stewart was subbed off with concussion.
Prowling the backline in the third term, Atkins came up with an important intercept mark, won a crucial ground ball in the back 50 and halved a one-on-one contest against Lachie McNeil when he was initially out of position on a fast break.
Recognising they needed to hit the scoreboard after two barren quarters, the Cats coaches thrust Atkins back into the middle in the final quarter and he attended seven centre bounces.
Now that Parfitt will spend at least a month nursing a broken hand, Atkins should again be used to keep things rolling in the midfield.
Superstar Patrick Dangerfield should be back after the bye to step right into the midfield but the Cats will need a replacement for Parfitt’s team-leading 5.3 tackles per game, a role that suits Atkins just fine.
At times in past years, the Cats have lost balance around the midfield when Dangerfield has been rightly focused on hoovering up the ball himself, leaving defensive holes around stoppages for a pressure player to fill.
With Mitch Duncan settled in an offensive role at half-back, Atkins should be freed up to go to work in his latest role as an onballer.
And new roles are no concern for Geelong’s resident Mr Fix-it.
CATS LOSE PARFITT TO BROKEN HAND
Geelong midfielder Brandan Parfitt is set for an extended stint on the sidelines after sustaining a broken hand in the win against Western Bulldogs.
Parfitt will have surgery during the week to repair his hand, and while the club has not issued a date for his return, he is expected to be unavailable for about four to six weeks.
Meanwhile, star defender Tom Stewart has entered the mandatory AFL concussion guidelines after receiving a head knock in the match against the Bulldogs.
Stewart was subbed out of Friday night’s clash after being concussed in a contest with Western Bulldog Bailey Smith.
There were initial concerns of a potential jaw injury for the star Cat, but Stewart is expected to be available after Geelong’s round 13 bye.
There are reinforcements on the horizon, with forgotten midfielder Sam Menegola playing in the VFL at the weekend as he makes a bid to play his AFL game of the season.
Menegola had surgery on his knee in the off-season and is expected to be available in the weeks following Geelong’s bye.
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Originally published as Geelong Cats injury updates: Brandan Parfitt to have surgery, Tom Stewart avoids broken jaw