The door has been left open for key defender Sam De Koning to return as Geelong prepares to combat Fremantle’s trio of tall forwards in Friday night’s semi-final at Optus Stadium.
De Koning was left out of the Cats’ team for the elimination final victory over Carlton.
However, the Dockers’ forward structure presents a different challenge for Geelong, with Josh Treacy, Patrick Voss and Jye Amiss combining for 155 goals.
“We’ve always been a ‘horses for courses’ selection panel… but there are multiple ways of thinking about it,” coach Chris Scott said.
“I think the short answer to that is he’s absolutely in the frame as he was last week.
“In a way, it’s a little bit strange that he wasn’t in our team last week; I completely acknowledge that.
“He’s been a really important player for us, and I’m confident that he will be, you know, as soon as this week.
“But (there is) a bit to work through before we actually make that decision, but (it’s) very obvious to us already that he’ll be on the plane.”
Scott isn’t expecting any forced changes to the Geelong team, despite Max Holmes, Tanner Bruhn and Jeremy Cameron appearing to struggle at times against the Blues.
“I know some of the pictures can be a little deceiving, and I think I said post-game I’d caution anyone against sort of looking at a player getting some treatment and thinking that he’s banged up.
“We were really clear in our approach, with Cameron and Holmes in particular.
“And there’s always a bit of uncertainty as to how things are going to play out, but in terms of what we were after, it was pretty close to exactly what we were hoping for in terms of their physical preparation.
“So, that is to say that we think they’ll be better this week than they were last week, and they pulled up really well, so the indications are good there.”
“I think we sat Tanner Bruin a little bit late, but he’s fine.”
Scott is also confident captain Patrick Dangerfield will be able to have an influence after dominating last week.
“There’s always a little bit of talk about Paddy, I guess, and the recent history is when he dominates a final that he might be a little bit sore the next week,” he said.
“But that possibility is something we’re aware of as well, and I think that gives us the opportunity to sort of think about how we manage him.
“And there’s also a bit of luck as well. I’m not sure whether I’ve said it before, (but) he got a really bad cork in the grand final.
“Sometimes those things happen, and you can’t plan for them, and there’s not much you can do about it.
“What we do know is he has come off this game well, and we’ll know a little bit more when we see him train properly today.”
Meanwhile, Scott revealed midfielder James Worpel is unlikely to play again this season.
He’s been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in the Round 23 win over North Melbourne.
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