Geelong’s Zach Guthrie says the Cats have the defensive depth to cover the reigning premiers on Friday night

It’s no surprise the Cats’ best defensive block of games has coincided with the return of two of its best backs, a young rebounder believes.

Geelong’s Tom Stewart and Jack Henry had injury interrupted starts to the season. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

It’s no surprise the return of Jack Henry and Tom Stewart to Geelong’s back six has coincided with its best defensive form of the season in a five-game winning run, Zach Guthrie says.

The Cats have conceded just 63 points a game over those five matches – sending Geelong to second place on the AFL ladder – compared to 93 over the preceding five which included losses to Carlton and the Giants.

Henry missed the first block of five with a hamstring – Stewart missed three with knee issues – but the Cats have barely put a foot wrong since their permanent return in mid-May.

During the Cats’ unbeaten run, West Coast captain Oscar Allen’s four majors in Round 12 was the biggest individual haul an opposition player has produced, but he was shutdown over the last quarter and a bit and kept to just two touches and no majors.

Tom Stewart battled knee issues at the start of the season while Jack Henry was sidelined for five weeks with a hamstring. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Combined with the consistency of Lawson Humphries and the emergence of Connor O’Sullivan, Brisbane’s goalkicking woes have come at exactly the wrong time, booting 21.33 over the past two rounds, ahead of their clash at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.

However, Guthrie was expecting a strong response from the Lions’ forward line which will be aided by a shoulder injury to Sam De Koning.

“I think we’re gelling pretty well at the moment which is good, it’s nice having Jack Henry back and Tom Stewart as well, we missed them a bit earlier in the season,” Guthrie said, with Stewart averaging nearly seven intercepts a game since his return.

The five-time All-Australian has also seen hefty gains in intercept marks (280 per cent) and intercept possessions (81 per cent) since his return, compared to the first five games of the year.

“Sam’s obviously a really important player for us and one we rely on every week to play on those taller types,” Guthrie said.

“We’ve got a number of guys who can roll through that position.

“We’ll certainly miss ‘DK’ but it’s nice to have a group that’s gelling well together.

“(Brisbane has) got a number of talented players (forward of the ball).

Sam De Koning was subbed out of the game against Essendon with a shoulder issue. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“For whatever reason they haven’t been able to capitalise as much the last few weeks ... but if we give them time and space they’re an absolute handful.”

Guthrie said the Cats were nicely placed at 10-4 to attack the back half of the season – they face Essendon again, North Melbourne, St Kilda and Richmond twice – but believed it was still a “pretty open race” for a number of challengers.

Meanwhile, he praised the resilience of his brother Cam, who has endured a lengthy battle with injury.

The older Guthrie, 32, has been kept to just 10 senior games since the 2022 premiership, while a return to the top level was curtailed in the VFL after a calf issue against the Gold Coast Suns on June 8.

However, the younger Guthrie said he didn’t expect the ailment to keep his brother sidelined for too long.

“I think the positive signs are it’s not too serious,” he said on Monday.

“He’ll be looking to get back out there shortly soon.

“Fingers crossed, I’d love to play some footy again with him.”

Cam Guthrie and Jack Martin before their returns against Footscray in the VFL. Picture: Geelong Cats

Guthrie said his older brother remained a sounding board for his career despite his recent battles with injury.

“Even sort of through this period where he hasn’t been out there he’s been able to help my footy massively which I’ve really appreciated and depended on,” he said.

“He’s been a huge help for me individually in my career.”

He said his brother was an optimistic and low maintenance teammate.

“He’s just a really positive person and somebody who goes about things with no fuss,” he said.

“Something that I really admire about him is that he just gets on with it, he’s not looking too far past what his next role is.

“Just the way he goes about it is pretty impressive.

“You sort of have the right to be frustrated and a little bit down in the dumps because you’ve not been able to help the team out there, but that hasn’t been what he’s done, he’s been still looking to help the team where he can.”

Originally published as Geelong’s Zach Guthrie says the Cats have the defensive depth to cover the reigning premiers on Friday night