Tuohy in AFL mix
GEELONG defender Zach Tuohy feels his fitness is good enough to play at AFL level, but has hinted he may need a second VFL game as he continues his return from a knee injury.
Tuohy made a successful comeback from post-season knee surgery in Geelong’s narrow three-point win over Werribee on Saturday, playing his first game since the Cats’ elimination final loss to Melbourne last year.
It was a strong return for Tuohy, even if he did show some early signs of rust, finishing with 14 possessions and a tackle. But the 29-year-old said he was not sure whether he would be rushed straight back into Geelong’s side to face West Coast at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday.
“I want to get back in as soon as possible, but I don’t want to get back in if I’m not 100 per cent,” Tuohy said.
“I feel pretty confident that I could play (AFL) if I had to, but another week (in the VFL) would make sense.
“I was off (with my touch) … but it was good. I was just worried about how I would feel as the game went on.
“I was pretty cooked, but I would be really confident playing right now. I think I could probably get through the game.”
Tuohy watched most of the final term from the bench after hitting his total distance limit that was set pre-match.
“The best-case scenario was I get to that limit, worst-case was I would have wrapped it up at halftime,” he said.
“I probably could have kept going, but on the back of six or seven months out and at that stage it looked like we were going to get over the line (so it was safer to sit out the rest of the match on the bench).
“I was going to do over 10km, so anything over that was pretty good. I got over that pretty comfortably.”
Potentially complicating matters for the Cats is that their VFL side has a bye next weekend and does not play again until May 5, hurting any thought Geelong may have had of giving Tuohy another immediate run in the VFL.
Tuohy had played 138 consecutive games at AFL level before missing Geelong’s opening four games of the season.
VFL coach Shane O’Bree said Tuohy had embraced his return through the VFL system. The Irishman was even put in the middle of the post-match huddle with all the new players that had never featured in a Geelong win.
“I thought he was really solid, I thought his positioning was really good,” O’Bree said.
“When he got the ball in his hands he looked composed, he is a penetrating kick. A few one-on-ones he just found a way to scrap.
“Obviously the more games he plays the more cleaner he will be, he will intercept mark, he will take the game on even more.”