Youngster Cooper Whyte making strides during Geelong’s pre-season

After an impressive first pre-season, a Geelong youngster was cut down by injury in 2022. But the local kid is back this summer and turning heads again.

Cooper Whyte hunts the ball in a VFL appearance in 2022. Picture: Mike Owen/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Young Geelong utility Cooper Whyte is “progressing really nicely” after “starring” in his first AFL pre-season before groin injuries cut down his 2022.

The Grovedale junior was the surprise packet of the last pre-season, making an immediate impact with his football smarts and left-foot kicking.

Cooper Whyte has made strides at the start of pre-season.

But a groin injury wiped out almost all of his first year on the Geelong list, leaving the teen to start almost from square one this summer.

Whyte had performed so well, Cats head of development Matthew Egan said his impact was a coup for Geelong’s recruiting team.

“He was starring last pre-season. It shows Wellsy (Stephen Wells) and Liam Woodland’s strengths, I think he was pick 64 (in the national draft),” Egan said.

“He is progressing really nicely (this pre-season). It is sort of about working through his positional stuff now.

“He is a really nice left-foot kick so do you play him half-forward, half-back or on the wing? “A bit of list demographic (come into it), where we see some gaps, so we are working through that at the moment.”

Matthew Egan on the track. Picture: Alan Barber

Egan said a focus for Whyte had been about making sure he tuned up his body over the off-season, so he had “really good strength” to power through a proper pre-season.

Whyte will be among a big cohort of Cats hoping to push for senior selection in 2023, as part of the deepest list in the league.

While there will be a large number of talented players missing out on selection each week as the Cats aim to go back-to-back, Egan was adamant all young players could push for senior spots come round 1.

Ollie Dempsey and Mitch Knevitt get into training.

“We don’t try and limit their opportunities, if they are playing really well and pushing and their VFL form stacks up, there is no reason why they can’t play,” Egan said.

“They obviously have to go past someone and you need to put a block of form together to break into the side but we had some injuries last year and those guys did come up.

“Mitch Knevitt, Ollie Dempsey each got games and now you have guys like Tanner Bruhn, Ollie Henry (join the club) that have played a lot of footy so it’s exciting for the club.

“I know the coaches wouldn’t be saying ‘this is the team’, there would be a big block of players that are ready to play.

“That could be anyone. It could be a first-year player that is dominating and ready to go.”

Originally published as Youngster Cooper Whyte making strides during Geelong’s pre-season