PATRICK Dangerfield has pulled on a Geelong VFL jumper for the first time in his six seasons at the club with a surprise practice match appearance.
The star midfielder, who is serving a three-match AFL suspension, was only cleared on Saturday morning to play in the Cats clash with Port Melbourne at North Port Oval.
“Danger played the majority of the game,” Geelong VFL coach Shane O’Bree told Bay93.9’s The Sideline View.
“Once we got the tick of approval from the AFL that he could play, it was good for Danger to play a game of football and keep that match practice up while he’s out with the suspension.
“But it’s also good for young players to play with guys like Danger.”
CATS: ROHAN OFFERED SUSPENSION
Fellow midfielder Mitch Duncan remains a chance for an AFL return from an ongoing calf issue on Easter Monday after playing the second half and kicking a goal in Geelong’s 74-point win.
“Mitch got through unscathed and did a bit of extra running at the end,” O’Bree said.
“We’re hoping up he pulls up well now so he can have a normal weekly routine to play next Monday.”
Josh Jenkins responded to his axing from Geelong’s AFL line-up with a five-goal haul.
“We got a lot of entries into him, so he got a lot of opportunities to mark the ball and follow up,” O’Bree.
“That was probably the pleasing thing; if he didn’t mark it, his pressure at ground level and his creativity were on show.
“It was a really good response for a guy like him who missed out on a game this week.”
Bradley Close and Ben Jarvis also hit the scoreboard, kicking four goals apiece.
2020 draftee Max Holmes again put his hand up for an AFL debut with an impressive performance, while Zach Guthrie also stood out after spending Friday night as the medical substitute.
The VFL team will have the weekend off before its final practice match against Collingwood at Deakin Uni on April 10.
Twitter: @tom_king79
GEELONG 21.9 (141)
PORT MELBOURNE 10.7 (67)
GOALS: Geelong: J. Jenkins 5, B. Close 4, B. Jarvis 4, J. McLachlan 3, J. Johnson 2, M. Holmes, M. Duncan, D. Fort, C. Taheny
BEST: Geelong: M. Holmes, Z. Guthrie, N. Krueger, D. Fort, B. Close, J. Jenkins
