GEELONG will again leave until as late as possible the final make-up of its team as it prepares for Sunday’s clash with North Melbourne at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena.
The Cats named a squad of 26 on Thursday night and need to lodge a 22 with four emergencies on Friday afternoon.
However, coach Chris Scott said 25 players were likely to make the trip across Bass Strait to give those under clouds every chance to be right.
Defender Jed Bews is set to play despite receiving attention for a shoulder issue in the loss to Hawthorn on Easter Monday.
However, more definitive calls need to be made on Patrick Dangerfield and Jack Henry.
Dangerfield suffered a couple of ‘corkies’ to a calf that was already causing trouble early in the clash with the Hawks.
“Murphy’s Law dictates that what can go wrong will go wrong, and he’s got a couple of corks right in the spot that had been worrying him,” Scott said.
“That obviously impacted him in the game, and I’ll – as always – take the advice from our medical staff.
“But they’re saying he’s a chance, so he’s in the squad.”
It’s the same approach Geelong is taking with Henry, who had the foot that underwent pre-season surgery stood on against Hawthorn.
“I think it’s reasonable to say that he’s very unlikely, but he’s in the squad because they’re telling me there’s a chance,” Scott said.
“Very, very small, but … Dumb and Dumber style, there’s a chance.”
Rookie Ollie Dempsey could cap a meteoric rise from occasional teenage footballer to AFL player against the ‘Roos.
After some impressive VFL form, he’s been named in the squad, but Scott stopped short of announcing his debut.
“But, the fact Ollie’s in our squad speaks to how far he’s come in such a short space of time,” Scott.
“He was, a couple of years ago, a basketballer, although he played a little bit of footy at Carey Grammar.
“But, he didn’t really decide he wanted to play footy until really recently and was plucked out of a few games of Old Boys’ footy.”
Click below to listen to Chris Scott’s media conference
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