Patrick Dangerfield returns to Geelong as he nurses lung injury
Only a week after literally busting a lung, Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield was ready to play, and could have played if the Cats were scheduled later on the weekend, Chris Scott says.
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Patrick Dangerfield declared himself fit to play just seven days after partially collapsing a lung and could return next week but Geelong coach Chris Scott is adamant he will not put any players on the field “that are inhibited”.
Dangerfield joined in Geelong’s captain’s run on Wednesday after picking up the lung injury and a rib issue last week against Port Adelaide.
Ahead of a crunch clash with Melbourne on Thursday night Scott said his captain could have played if the game was on a “Sunday or Monday”.
The ferocious skipper has often put his hand up to play in recent years only to be held back by Geelong’s medical staff and Scott said he would not take the field with any lingering issue.
“I fully expected him to declare himself fit, which he did, and he was just overruled on that one but not by as wide of a margin as I expected,” Scott said.
“He still thinks he can play and sometimes with those guys you have to save them from themselves. It looks like he will be OK, they say if the game was on Sunday or Monday he probably would be OK to play so that is a good sign for the following week.
“I just have no desire to put any of our players out on the ground that are inhibited. I think that happened way too often in bygone eras. Patty could have declared himself fit and demanded to play but if this was a grand final, we still wouldn’t have let him play.”
Ruck Rhys Stanley is set to return to face Melbourne star duo Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy, with the premiership Cat “a big part of the puzzle” in getting Geelong back to its best, Scott said.
The Cats will not be able to call on Jonathon Ceglar, who is dealing with an ankle injury on top of the adductor problem that kept him out of the loss to the Power last week.
Stanley hasn’t been seen at AFL level since round 5, when he suffered a fractured eye socket and later dealt with issues related to his vision.
“Getting Rhys back is going to be a real bonus for us in the way we want to play,” Scott said.
“We think Rhys will be a part of that puzzle that can get us close to our best pretty quickly.”
Midfielder Tanner Bruhn (shoulder) has been cleared to play, while defenders Esava Ratugolea (hamstring) and Oisin Mullin (adductor) will take another week off.
“ (Ratugolea) is in the available basket but we just decided to be conservative, so very likely he will play next week,” Scott said.
Dangerfield to ‘suck it and see’ on injury recovery
Patrick Dangerfield will have to “suck it and see” as his return date remains unclear from a lung and rib injury as the Cats skipper says he “solved a lot of the great world problems” on his long road trip to Geelong last week.
But while Dangerfield appears set for a stint on the sidelines, Geelong is poised to bring ruck Rhys Stanley back for a season-defining clash with Melbourne as the Cats clear their injury list.
Dangerfield will miss Thursday night’s game and the Cats have not committed to a timeline for his return just yet.
Similar injuries in the past have seen played miss about a month of action and Dangerfield – who has a partially collapsed lung and broken rib – remains unsure when he will be able to get back to full fitness as Geelong’s season threatens to slip away.
“It sounds a lot worse than it probably is, it (the lung) is just not inflating and getting the maximum volume it can,” he told SEN.
“In terms of time frames and those sort of things it is a bit of a suck and see around how quickly it responds and builds back up to I suppose 100% inflation.
“It’s sort of a daily thing we look at and re-evaluate.”
Dangerfield was forced to wait in an ambulance outside hospital in Adelaide on Thursday night after he played out the loss to Port Adelaide with his brutal injury.
“It wasn’t too bad though, it sort of is what it is,” he said.
“We all recognise around the country at the moment there were a few wait lines … I wasn’t on my death bed so it wasn’t too bad for me.”
Dangerfield drove back from Adelaide to Geelong on Friday as he was unable to fly, and while he was medicated during the eight hour drive, he said he got to the bottom of the world’s issues with player development manager Mark Worthington.
The skipper went straight to GMHBA Stadium on Friday night to watch Geelong’s VFL game instead of returning home.
“I feel like we solved a lot of the world’s great problems … if you can get a good person to sit with for eight hours I highly recommend it,” he said.
Stanley played strongly in three quarters against Frankston in the VFL and appears set to face Melbourne stars Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy in the ruck.
Fellow tall Jonathon Ceglar (adductor) remains in doubt to be passed fit.
“Rhys played three quarters of football (in the VFL) and did a bit of top up running at the very end and we expect Rhys to be available to play,” Geelong footy boss Simon Lloyd said.
“It’s a great result and obviously it has been a long period of time with Rhys’ recovery from a facial fracture so it will be good to have him back.”
Scans on young midfielder Tanner Bruhn’s shoulder came up positively for the Cats, with the hard nut set to be available to face the Demons.
Irishman Oisin Mullin (adductor) will also be available to play.
Big man Esava Ratugolea is shaping up as being available as well, with the defender ticking all the boxes in his return from a hamstring.
Ratugolea has been training fully and the Cats coaches will debate whether he returns to face the Demons on Thursday.
“Esava Ratugolea is training well, hitting all his high speed markers as we touched on last week,” Lloyd said.
“He is in main training, the decision will be made by Chris Scott and the coaching team, working very closely with our medical department but he is very close.”
Bruhn played through pain with an AC injury to his right shoulder last week against Port Adelaide before he was eventually subbed out for Jack Bowes.
Forgotten pair Sam Menegola and Shannon Neale are set to return to action this weekend, in Geelong’s VFL clash with Casey.
Menegola (knee) and Neale (ankle) both had surgeries earlier this year and haven’t featured at AFL level, with the Cats missing Menegola’s midfield run and Neale’s height at times as they dealt with an array of injuries.
Dangerfield watched VFL clash with busted lung
Cats captain Patrick Dangerfield joined his teammates at the club on Monday as it was revealed he watched Geelong’s VFL match on Friday, fresh off a drive from Adelaide with a partially collapsed lung.
The champion midfielder played for more than a half with the debilitating injury and a cracked rib as his side went down to Port Adelaide on Thursday night.
He arrived in good spirits to GMHBA Stadium before Geelong’s main training session on Monday morning and showing no signs of discomfort.
He will not face Melbourne this Thursday night and Geelong will continue to monitor his recovery as he faces the potential of more than a month on the sidelines.
Dangerfield was unable to fly back with his teammates on Friday and was driven back by Cats welfare manager Mark Worthington.
Instead of returning straight to his home in Moggs Creek, Dangerfield watched on as Geelong claimed a narrow, two-point VFL win over Frankston.
“He was actually at the VFL game Friday night after driving back from Adelaide,” midfielder Tom Atkins said.
“He is in great spirits as always, he has obviously gone through a bit in that game and it was pretty tough to go back on, especially in that second quarter to play without any medical intervention.
“I think he will definitely miss this week but who knows (after that).”
While Dangerfield did appear hampered after the second-quarter injury, he played out the game and Atkins said he was still communicating with his teammates on the ground.
“I was playing with him in the midfield and he was still out there cracking in and talking to us so it was pretty impressive and just another thing to show how tough he is,” Atkins said.
Geelong should have ruck Rhys Stanley available to tackle Melbourne duo Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn after he played his first minutes on field in two months in the VFL win.
Stanley had 12 disposals and 28 hit-outs and looked a class above before he was put on ice.
Forward Ollie Dempsey put his name up for a promotion by gathering 25 disposals and kicking three goals.
Midfielder Tanner Bruhn was subbed out of the Port Adelaide loss with an AC joint issue in his right shoulder and appears likely to miss the Melbourne clash.
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Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield returns to Geelong as he nurses lung injury
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