Anxious contract wait for VFL Cats

GEELONG VFL coach Shane O’Bree hopes out-of-contract players Ryan Gardner and Timm House get the opportunity to stay on at the Cats next season after his side was bundled out of the finals by Box Hill yesterday.

The Cats were outclassed by a slick Hawks outfit that held them at arm’s length after quarter-time to win 13.12 (90) to 8.13 (61).

The loss might have been Gardner and House’s last in Cats colours, as the key position players enter the off-season without a contract.

But O’Bree said he hoped the pair got the chance to live out their AFL dreams.

“I hope so — they’re terrific guys to deal with,” he said. “Those two boys have done a lot of hard work on their games and tried to get them AFL games, but they haven’t been able to do that.

“Do they get another contract? It’s a bit out of my control, so I think a lot will pan out over the next few weeks.

“I hope they do because they’ve got a lot of attributes as tall defenders and tall forwards and have that flexibility.”

Jackson Thurlow (46 AFL games), George Horlin-Smith (51) and Lincoln McCarthy (29) also remain out of contract, having been exposed to senior football over the past 6-7 seasons.

Matthew Hayball missed the semi-final with soreness, but it’s unlikely the running defender will be offered a deal to play on in 2019, while Charlie Constable and Esava Ratugolea were withdrawn from the match at North Port Oval.

Jordan Keras starred on his return from a broken jaw, logging a team-high 27 disposals, while Jordan Cunico was busy, logging 20 touches, five tackles and a goal.

O’Bree said his side ran out of gas late in the season after losing to the Hawks in the final home-and-away round, before a straight-sets exit at the hands of Casey and Box Hill.

“I thought 15 of our 18 games were really good,” he said.

“I thought we fell in a bit of a hole there against Coburg (in Round 20). Even though we won easily, we were flashing a little bit just with our ability to run and use the ball.

“I thought a few of the guys, three or four weeks ago, were flashing a little bit and it was a bit of a grind.

“That’s a part of being young players, you’ve got to learn how to play a whole season and get to finals and have an impact.”