Gun midfielder Bailey Smith, reigning Coleman medalist Jeremy Cameron, and emerging forward Shannon Neale are expected to be right for Geelong’s Opening Round meeting with Gold Coast on Friday night.
Smith (calf) and Cameron (quad) missed the Cats’ Community Series loss to Carlton, while Neale was forced from the ground during the third quarter with a knock to the shin.
However, the dynamic Gryan Miers is no certainty to take on the Suns after undergoing thumb surgery last month.
“Maybe there’s a little bit more doubt – I think – on Gryan at this stage, which will become clear pretty soon,” coach Chris Scott said
“I think it’s also worth saying, we don’t have a very high tolerance for pushing guys that aren’t ready.
“Jeremy and Bailey will clearly be ready from a physical perspective, and they’ll play. grind.
“Gryan, it’s one of those situations where I think 15 years ago he’d be a certainty… maybe 25 years ago he would be a certainty because it was a badge of honour playing with these things.
“We’re much less tolerant of that stuff now. We don’t ask players to play through things that might mean that it’s going to hinder them later in the season and later in life, to be honest.
“So he had surgery on the thumb. He’s got the all-clear to play, but just because he can play doesn’t mean he should.”
Veteran big man Rhys Stanley won’t play, having not featured in either pre-season game, while small forward Tyson Stengle’s interrupted pre-season means he will spend time in the VFL before being considered for AFL selection.
He’s training well, the signs are really good, but we’re not going to rush him back in,” Scott said.
“He’ll certainly play in the VFL before he comes into the AFL team.
“But, my guess, and this is probably more my hope, is that if he progresses the way he’s training, he’ll be available sooner rather than later.”
After missing all of last season while allegations of sexual assault played out in court before charges were dropped in November, Tanner Bruhn will play his first AFL match since the 2024 preliminary final loss.
“We were confident going into the (20)25 season that he was going to be an important midfield player for us,” Scott said.
“We still think that’s the case. But he was always going to be a flexible player as well.
“We’ve taken the opportunity through our training to look at him in positions behind the ball.
“But, it’s just fantastic for him to get out there and be able to concentrate on footy. It’s one of the most egregious injustices I can think of in the game.
“So to put that behind him, I think, is positive for everyone.”
Scott hasn’t ruled out unveiling an AFL debutant against Gold Coast, with ruck Mitch Edwards and forward Jay Polkinghorne staking their claims over pre-season.
However, he says the return of Bruhn and the arrival of former Hawthorn best-and-fairest James Worpel will provide extra competition for spots.
“We’re thinking hard about that… because leading into the first game, you’ve always got more time than you do in season,” Scott said.
“We’ve got a pretty good idea of the way we’re going to go.
“But there are a few balls in the air, and those guys have provided us some options that maybe we didn’t think were as live six months ago.”
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