HE’S IN! CATS BACKTRACK ON JACK

Steven called up for Cats debut

GEELONG will unleash recruit Jack Steven earlier than planned, catapulting the midfielder into tonight’s match against Carlton at GMHBA Stadium for his club debut.

The Cats had wanted to hold Steven back another week, before midfielder Brandan Parfitt pulled up sore in his hamstring at yesterday’s training session and was ruled out.

While the Cats’ preference was to give the former Saint an extra week’s training, they are also confident he is ready to go.

Steven has dazzled on the track in recent weeks after making a strong recovery from being stabbed in the chest and presenting at hospital on May 17, which forced him to miss more than a week of training.

“He trains with this huge amount of intensity that is off the radar, to be honest,” captain Joel Selwood last week said on 3AW.

Steven was set to play in today’s curtain-raiser scratch match against the Blues, featuring players not selected for tonight’s AFL match.

The withdrawal is a blow for emerging midfielder Parfitt, who was among Geelong’s best against Hawthorn last week.

The Cats are desperate for Parfitt to have a clear run to showcase his potential.

Lachie Fogarty has been added to the emergencies.

Geelong had held the fourtime St Kilda best-and-fairest winner back from selection during the past two weeks, keen to ensure he delivers his best later in the season.

The 30-year-old hit the ground running at Geelong with a strong pre-season after playing only seven matches at the Saints last year. He performed well in a pre-season match against Essendon, but fell short of selection in Round 1 against GWS after suffering a calf setback.

Cats coach Chris Scott earlier this week indicated Steven was unlikely to face Carlton.

“We are just trying to work through whether we change a team that is in good form — albeit off only one game — and fit, when we have the opportunity to get some match practice into some guys and make a more conservative call,” Scott said.