BEYOND THE BOUNDARY PODCAST – DAVID ISBISTER
East Geelong young gun Ben Crombie will make his return from mid-season ankle surgery in tomorrow’s clash with arch-rival Thomson at Godfrey Street.
The Geelong VFL development list member hasn’t played since the Round 8 win over Corio, and will return on limited minutes as he looks to build into another finals campaign for the Eagles.
“When he first had the surgery, we bookmarked a couple of weeks ago (for a return), and then it looked like it might push out to next week,” East coach Ned Aulsebrook said.
“But I think this is probably the happy medium, and we’re on pretty strict instructions from the VFL medical team that it’ll be in the forward line and on more limited minutes than he normally would be.
“It’s good to get him back in this week and then, hopefully, release the shackles a little bit more in Round 18.”
Despite the return of Crombie, the selection news was mixed for East.
Jack Dickson, Paddy O’Brien-Henderson, and Caleb Lowndes all return from injury.
However, captain John McIntyre, Ben Mulvahil, and Will Hough are all unlikely to be sighted until week two of the finals.
Lachie Zimmer is the victim of a points squeeze and will play in the reserves.
“He’s way too good to be running around at 12 o’clock,” Aulsebrook said.
“But we’ve got to have a look at some guys that are playing some really good footy at the moment.
“Zimmer will come back into the senior side next week against Inverleigh. We’ve got a couple of unavailabilities that will allow that to happen in the final round of the year.
“It’s a hard part about coaching, but it’s a nice problem to have.”
Aulsebrook says that despite the long list of injuries and unavailabilities that have impacted Thomson, which has grown to include Zac Plant, Paul Davis, and Alex Anticev for tomorrow, the Eagles are wary of their neighbours.
The Tigers will have extra incentive to pull off an upset, with Jackson Macleod celebrating 300 open-age games for the club.
It follows the announcement that Paul Lynch will continue as coach in 2026, with injured forward Jacob Knight to share the role.
“I don’t really want to talk too much about who they’ve got out there; they always get up to play us,” Aulsebrook said.
“Let’s control what we can control.
“And they’ve got obviously a really big weekend for the club with some milestones and past players day, and they’ve announced signings of coaches for next year.
“It’ll be an exciting place to be, and I’m sure they’ll come out firing against us on the weekend.”
Anakie will be boosted by the return of Josh Mawson and Matt Dettman for its blockbuster clash with North Geelong at Anakie Reserve.
The Roos sit 1.09 per cent outside of the top five, with a win over the second-placed Magpies crucial to snapping a 26-year finals drought.
Jet Mills has been recalled from the reserves.
Kyle Eibl (shoulder), Matt McLachlan (buttock), and James Vandenberg are out of the team that defeated Bannockburn last week.
North Geelong will be without gun midfielder Rory Desnoy (shoulder), with captain Zac Schwennesen returning.
Werribee Centrals have made three changes for their tricky clash with Geelong West at West Oval.
Harley Kliby and Keegan Gilbert are unavailable, with last week’s debutant Zac Pace returning to the under-18s.
Fletcher Vesty and Damian Williams have been recalled from the reserves, with Ben Leonard to make his first senior appearance since the semi-final loss to eventual premier Thomson last year.
Victory for the Centurions, and losses for Inverleigh, Thomson and Anakie, are required for Rhyce Prismall’s men if they’re to keep their finals hopes alive heading into the final round.
Experienced duo Boe Collins and Scott Condy will make timely returns for fifth-placed Inverleigh ahead of its clash with finals-bound Bell Post Hill.
They replace Xavier Lewis and Dylan Scoble.
The Panthers’ inclusions are just as impressive, with multiple premiership-winning duo Tim Barton and Beau McNamara strengthening their line-up.
They replace Lachie Verschuren and Blake Crawford.
Belmont Lions have loaded up for their clash with Corio at Shell Reserve.
Harry Thompson, James Beasley, Andy Wylie, Noah Houtsma, Brock Mahoney, and Ollie Mayman return, with Lewis MacDonald playing his first senior game since last year’s grand final.
They replace injured duo Josh Wilson and Shaun Dell, Patrick Lindsay (unavailable), Riley Somers, Daniel Brockett, and Shaun Jubber.
Playing coach Joel Bennett is back for the Devils, with Blake Ash suspended.
Winchelsea has replaced Jack Symmons with Brayden O’Hanlon for its meeting with Bannockburn at Eastern Reserve.
The Tigers welcome back Rhys Ginn and Cooper Edwards for Ryan Wentworth and Luke Young.
X: @krockfootball
