FOR as long as he’s been coach of Geelong, Chris Scott has usually spoken of two scenarios when it comes to ruck stocks; you either have too many or not enough.
This week for the Cats, it could be the latter if Rhys Stanley cannot overcome an ankle injury suffered late in the loss to Fremantle.
With Hawthorn recruit Jonathon Ceglar (broken foot) and draftee Toby Conway (hip) both sidelined, the absence of Stanley would leave the cupboard looking bare.
A combination of Mark Blicavs and Esava Ratugolea, who is ready to return to action after battling an ankle issue, is the likely option.
“That’s definitely an option that we’re looking at,” Scott said.
“There are a couple of others, but, unfortunately, they’re not Conway and Ceglar.”
Geelong will definitely welcome back Patrick Dangerfield after two weeks on the sidelines for a match the Cats need to win to stay ahead of parity.
“What we’ve tried to explain over the last week or two is that we’re pursuing a policy, particularly with our more experienced players, that we get them in a position through their training that they’re ready to come in and perform at their best,” Scott said.
“And Pat, over a period of weeks, with a couple of quite serious corks, just wasn’t able to train, (and) was playing under duress.
And it made it clearer for us the right decision for him, and for the team longer term, was to get that right and come back when he’s ready to play really well, which we think is this week.”
Scott said the loss of young gun Max Holmes to a syndesmosis injury would impact the Cats.
“We were really pleased with how he was going, individually,” Scott said.
“But, in terms of his contribution to the team, it can’t be understated how important he became really quickly.
“It was a loss in-game on the weekend, and it’ll be a loss over the next couple of months or whatever it is.
“Hopefully, we can all look back over a decent period of time and say this was just a bump in the road for Max.”
Carji Greeves Medal runner-up Jack Henry remains a day-to-day proposition as he tries to put a foot issue behind him.
The foot he had pre-season surgery on was stood on in the Easter Monday loss to Hawthorn.
“He’s got a rod in that bone, which means structurally it’s really sound; there’s no intervention required,” Scott said.
“But they (medical staff) want to make sure he’s pain-free before they push him. He’s getting much closer to that.
“And the feedback, if you were to guess a little bit, is that once he’s pain-free training, he’ll be ready to play really quickly.
Quintin Narkle (ankle) looks set to return via the VFL, while Sam Menegola (knee soreness) might have to wait another week to play his first match since early April.
Click below to listen to Chris Scott’s media conference.
Twitter: @tom_king79
