STEADY DOES IT

Wounded Cat ruck to face fitness test for Port clash

GEELONG ruck Rhys Stanley played hobbled as St Kilda opponent Paddy Ryder took the game from the Cats last weekend but he is improving each day before Saturday’s clash with Port Adelaide.

Facing a wounded Stanley and utility Mark Blicavs, Ryder took control of the round 9 match after halftime and earned a perfect 10 coaches’ votes for his three-goal, 22-hitout performance.

The Cats big man spent much of the first quarter in the changerooms after aggravating the same ankle he injured two weeks earlier in the loss to Fremantle.

Early in the first quarter on Saturday, Stanley took an intercept mark from a St Kilda kick-in.

Instead of going back to take the shot at goal, he called out for Zach Tuohy to receive a handball before dishing off to the Irishman, who converted.

Stanley landed directly on his right leg in the marking contest and Geelong football boss Simon Lloyd confirmed that was the incident that wounded his ankle.

“He aggravated it in that contest,” Lloyd said.

“So basically we had to get him off the ground and have that assessed. It’s a credit to our medical team and to Rhys that he was able to play our the game even under duress. He is moving better as the week progresses but he will complete a test later in the week to assess his availability.”

Ryder led the Saints through a dominant patch in the third term – displacing Blicavs to deliver a trademark tap to set up a Jack Billings goal – before booting two final-term goals.

One of those majors came after the veteran Saint sprinted forward from a centre bounce, finding himself all alone in the forward line as Stanley walked gingerly in the centre square.

The enigmatic big Cat played out the game and Lloyd said Geelong’s rotations were thrown out by Stanley’s injury.

The ruckman will go through a test later in the week in the hope of facing the Power in a crucial home clash on Saturday afternoon.

“That is a challenge, particularly when something happens early in the game so some adjustments were made so we needed to use Mark Blicavs through that role,” Lloyd said.

The Cats have been happy with the progress of injured midfielder Sam Simpson in recent weeks as he works his way back from a concussion setback.

Simpson has not played this season but has been notably more active in training in recent weeks.

“We are happy with where things are at,” Lloyd said.

It is still to be decided whether fellow injured midfielder Sam Menegola will play this weekend in the VFL, where draftees Toby Conway and Flynn Kroeger will make their club debuts.