Fort under siege as Scott weighs options for starting ruckman

GEELONG coach Chris Scott has left the door “wide open” for Rhys Stanley to replace Darcy Fort in the ruck for Friday night’s clash against Hawthorn.

Mature-age recruit Fort played only his fourth AFL game in the Round 1 loss to GWS — and held his own against Giants big man Sam Jacobs.

Fort had 23 hitouts and was competitive against an experienced AFL ruckman, with Esava Ratugolea providing able support.

But Scott hinted at entertaining a change in the ruck division.

“It’s not too dissimilar to where I was Round 1,” he said.

“We’ve got two guys we think are in really good form, had good preparations and can do the job for us.

“It will be a tight call again.” Geelong’s ruck preference has been an issue since the retirement of triple premiership player Brad Ottens, with the Cats using a long list of options since the 2011 flag.

And it would again seem that debate will continue this year as to who is best placed to play that role.

Stanley played 18 games last year, including a strong first half to the season before his form dipped after the midseason bye.

Zac Smith was traded back to Gold Coast in last year’s exchange period and Ryan Abbott was signed by St Kilda as a delisted free agent, leaving Stanley and Fort as the only two genuine ruck options on Geelong’s list.

When pressed if the door was ajar for the experienced Stanley, Scott said it was “wide open”.

He also ruled out the option of playing Fort and Stanley in the same side.

“We tend to prioritise our second tall forward too much to do that,” he said.

“We think Ratugolea could be a genuine No.1 ruckman in his own right.

“We think we’ve got pretty good balance there and good options. I don’t think a shortened game influences our decision-making around the ruckman much more than normal.”