Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield ahead of pace on last year
He was judged the best player in the finals last year after an interrupted season and Patrick Dangerfield is well ahead of where he was this time last year.
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REIGNING Gary Ayres medallist Patrick Dangerfield’s fitness is well ahead of where he was this time last year, while Tom Stewart has returned “really fit” as Geelong powers through pre-season with almost an entire list available.
The defending premiers have returned to training in 2023 with a near-on completely fit list, with the only major concerns Tom Hawkins and Toby Conway (both foot).
Hawkins has begun running again and took part in skills drills last week and is “in a good place” according to Geelong player development boss Matthew Egan.
Conway was moving around Geelong’s open training session on Tuesday in a moon boot but has not been ruled out of playing in round 1, while big man Shannon Neale trained with a heavily strapped right hamstring.
Dangerfield worked through a difficult home-and-away season in 2022 as persistent calf injuries saw him limited, with the champion having played just 34 games in the past two seasons, his lowest return over a two-year stretch since his opening years in the AFL.
But the 32-year-old has hardly missed a session this summer and Egan said Dangerfield and defensive supremo Stewart were leading the way among Geelong’s veterans.
Despite the interrupted campaign, Dangerfield was in peak form in September, dominating both the preliminary and grand finals to win the Gary Ayres Medal as the coaches choice for best player in the finals.
“Tommy Stewart has come back really fit and dedicated, he is in a great place with his training,” Egan said.
“Patty Dangerfield has been really consistent this pre-season. I don’t think he had this sort of volume last year.”
Egan also said Jack Henry, who suffered through a foot issue in the early rounds of 2022, was “training really well down back”.
With a near-complete list on the track over summer, Egan said Geelong was in great shape as the countdown to a round 1 clash with Collingwood on March 17 begins.
“I think it’s in a pretty good shape at this stage of pre-season,” he said.
“It’s about just building reps over pre-season. If you are missing too many who miss a big chunk (of the season), you have to work out where they slot back in. It is only a couple (who are injured) and those couple are building already.”
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