Break gives sore Cats time to mend bodies
THE Cats have returned to training with virtually a full bill of health as a handful of players “craving” time to mend their bodies enjoyed the twomonth coronavirus lockdown.
Only Lachie Fogarty (ankle), Jack Steven (stab wound) and Stefan Okunbor (achilles tendon) are behind schedule, with the former two a chance to be fit by the time matches begin in mid-June.
Geelong picked a string of players who had faced setbacks over the summer months in Round 1 against Greater Western Sydney, with Joel Selwood (hamstring), Tom Stewart (ankle), Mitch Duncan (hip) and Luke Dahlhaus (groin) among those who found fitness just in time in March.
Others such as Jake Kolodjashnij (hip) and Nakia Cockatoo (hamstring) have taken part in training this week and will prove their fitness next week as contact is introduced to sessions.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said those players had benefited from the time off as they were “craving” a chance to iron out kinks in their bodies.
“The eight weeks has been good for a lot of those guys,” he said.
“We went in to Round 1 and we thought we were picking the best team for Round 1 but it was clear we had a lot of players who didn’t have the preparation we would have liked.
“Kolodjashnij looks like he will be able to join in training, he was months away from playing in Round 1 so it’s helping him.
“Cockatoo will be training but I would caution against being too optimistic there, there is still a bit we have to see before we can talk about him playing.
“Lachie Fogarty coming off ankle surgery, he is probably along with Jack Steven one of the couple who might be held up by a week or so, but we think he will be right to play when games come around.”
The AFL is still working on how those not selected in senior sides will stay match fit after it was deemed no players could play in state leagues this year.
Scott said it would be tough to keep players in shape without reserves.
“The AFL are working pretty hard to get us some sort of match practice opportunity against another AFL team, we’re not exactly sure what format that might entail,” he said.
“Getting those guys some match practice is really hard if you only have 30 fit players — 15 on 15 is probably not quite enough.
“But we’re a bit better than that so we think the next couple of weeks will tell us a bit.”