Geelong Cats: All the news ahead of round 12 clash with Western Bulldogs
Cats coach Chris Scott says he will not allow his side’s losing record dictate his selection policy after he left his captain out for a fourth-straight week.
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Dual Carji Greeves medalist Cam Guthrie is expected to be sidelined for at least 10 weeks after the premiership Cat had successful surgery on Friday morning.
Coach Chris Scott confirmed Guthrie had surgery on a persistent toe-joint injury, and will likely be unavailable until the last few rounds of the home-and-away season.
But Scott said he had no difficulty keeping Guthrie on ice until he was completely ready to return, with the midfielder’s longevity more important than the potential impact he could have in a late finals push.
“The plan is to have him back in the last couple of rounds in the home-and-away season hopefully, or somewhere around that period,” he said.
“The progress we were hoping for wasn’t being made, and it’s been a frustrating process for everyone especially Cam because it started off with a minor turf toe issue that morphed into an issue with his sesamoid.
“Even in retrospect, the way that it’s been explained to me … is that it was handled really well.
“It’s a surgery that the surgeon is very confident will fix it once and for all.
“We’re not going to put a guy at risk that’s important to our future just because we’re a little uncomfortable with where we sit on the ladder.”
Guthrie’s long-term availability adds to a burgeoning injury list at Kardinia Park, with captain Pat Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan and Esava Ratugolea missing until after the round 12 bye, while Max Holmes, Sam Menegola and Rhys Stanley are all sidelined until later in the season.
Scott said Stanley had made positive progress from his facial injury after concerns last week surrounding the premiership ruck’s sight being impaired.
“He has made progress and we’re confident that he’ll play soon,” he said.
“I don’t know exactly how soon, but again, I’ve mentioned this a few times with a few of our injuries, we’ve had guys that haven’t been able to play but have been able to train.
Rhys is one of those, he’s had this little bit of discomfort with his vision, and that would be very disconcerting but the rest of his body has been able to get a fair bit of work in.
“When he gets passed to play in terms of his vision, he’ll be ready to go straight away such is the work that he’s done.”
No place for skipper in Danger game: Scott
Cats coach Chris Scott says he will not allow his side’s losing record dictate his selection policy after he left his captain out for a fourth-straight week.
Premiership star Patrick Dangerfield suffered an innocuous hamstring strain against Adelaide in round 8 and was subbed out of the clash, with the club reporting it was a minor injury and he would return to the field in the short term.
But Scott said his captain never expected to be rushed back into the side despite the Cats sitting at a precarious 5-6 record with an important game against the Western Bulldogs to come on Saturday.
“It’s been an ongoing conversation, he was always aware of this possibility (of missing until the byes),” he said.
“He had so much trust in our medical staff that he was always going to leave the final decision to them.
“The way we tend to operate is the player has a lot of control over not just their program but their whole career.
“With Paddy’s experience, he was always going to have some sway there, but not so much that he would go against what the medical staff thought was prudent.
“We are not in the position that we’re going to be panicked into thinking about where we are in the season when it comes to individuals going back from injury.”
Mid-season prospect compared to All Australian Cat
Geelong coach Chris Scott has flagged a potential debut for mid-season draftee Mitch Hardie in the coming weeks, comparing the former SANFL footballer to an All Australian Cat.
The 25-year-old recruit landed at Geelong with pick 7 on Wednesday night, and joined his new teammates at training at GMHBA Stadium on Friday.
Scott said Hardie could come into the senior side quickly and fill a void in the midfield, comparing the recruit to Mark Blicavs as another mature aged recruit that impacted early in his career.
“The age bracket is an interesting point,” he said.
“He is an older player, he’s not old, and we don’t have many in that 25-26 age bracket and we’re always open-minded to the possibility of these things.
“With good reason, because we have a history of bringing in Mark Blicavs.
“Never has a player come into an AFL list and been further away from AFL footy than Mark Blicavs, but it turned pretty quickly.
“Mitch is already a well-credentialed SANFL player and we’re open to the possibility of Mitch coming into our team.
“We wouldn’t have drafted him otherwise.”
Blicavs arrived at Geelong as a 22-year-old steeplechaser that had attempted to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and has forged a 238-game career that includes a premiership, an All Australian blazer and two Carji Greeves Medals.
Hardie spent the first half of the 2023 season playing at Woodville-West Torrens, where he averaged 25.7 disposals, 6.4 tackles, 5.6 clearances and a goal per game.
Originally published as Geelong Cats: All the news ahead of round 12 clash with Western Bulldogs
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