Cats hope VFL spell reignites Fogarty mojo

GEELONG youngster Lachie Fogarty will get an extended run through the midfield in tomorrow’s VFL clash with Coburg as the Cats look to reinstill the rising star’s confidence.

Fogarty was last night dropped from Geelong’s senior team following a lean couple of weeks, joining Quinton Nar- kle, James Parsons (both omitted) and Rhys Stanley (injured) out of the side.

Jordan Murdoch, Harry Taylor, Jackson Thurlow and Ryan Abbott have all come in. Narkle and Parsons are both emergencies for the AFL team.

VFL coach Shane O’Bree said Fogarty, who has spent the entire season in the AFL side, would see plenty of midfield minutes in his VFL debut.

“It will be exciting to get him on the ball and get his con- fidence back,” O’Bree said.

“It’s a hard role to play, that high half-forward role at AFL level. You are chasing a lot of tail and you’ve got to make the most of your opportunities, so it can be a hard role at times.

“We want him getting a bit of the ball and feeling confident in himself and hopefully he is back in the AFL next week.”

Stewart Crameri has also been named for his VFL return following an extended time on the sidelines with eye and groin issues.

“He has an interrupted couple of months. We’re happy to get him back before finals,” O’Bree said.

“‘Stewy’ is in good enough form at training that we are hoping he will have a real impact first-up. We will try and get Stewart in form as quick as possible. I’m not too sure how much game time (he will get).”

Coburg sits cemented to the bottom of the ladder, but O’Bree said they could cause trouble on their home ground.

“They’ve had a tough year, but they’re a pretty good starting team and they’re a young team,” he said.

“On their home deck they can take it up to most sides. They are a team that around the contest can get the ball forward pretty hard, so we are hoping we can stand up behind the ball and when we get it in our hands we can control the game as much as we can.”