Dangerfield ruled out again, but Geelong hopes for return next week
THE curious case of Patrick Dangerfield’s fitness will continue for another week with the Brownlow medallist once again ruled out due to multiple corks.
Dangerfield was sore before Easter Monday, but soldiered through the pain barrier to play against Hawthorn in round 5.
The explosive superstar had just three disposals in the final quarter as the Cats were overrun.
Dangerfield, 32, was named in round 6 but withdrawn the following day. He will now miss round 7 as well.
Captain Joel Selwood said on Monday he would be surprised if Dangerfield missed two matches in a row.
Coach Chris Scott said on Wednesday only a lack of training would keep Dangerfield from returning in the match of the round against Fremantle in Saturday.
The question floating around last week was whether Dangerfield had torn his calf against the Hawks.
The Cats have been adamant that wasn’t the case, with medicos and Dangerfield himself telling Cats staff he had simply received multiple corks around the same site.
A drug called tranexamic acid has revolutionised the treatment of corks and, combined with deep-tissue massage, it is rare for players to miss matches. That treatment enabled a sore Jeremy McGovern to line up in the 2018 grand final.
Scott detailed Dangerfield’s battles with transparency on Wednesday.
“We’re optimistic that he’s going to be available, the question for us is whether we should play him given the lack of training he’s had over the last month,” Scott said.
“He had a really bad corked quad, which kept him off the training track. He was able to play a little bit limited.
“A lot of players go in with those sorts of things that mean they’re a bit less than their best but there’s no danger of re-injury.
“But it did keep him off the track for subsequent weeks, and then he had calf issues as well.
“So when we put that all together there’s been a lack of training that is the biggest concern for us right at the moment.”
At least one official suspected
Dangerfield was already so sore that he shouldn’t have played against the Hawks.
But following that game, Dangerfield said reports he was injured were off the mark.
“I’m not aware of it (an injury),” he said. “I may train today.”
But Dangerfield didn’t train that day and hasn’t since.
Perhaps the Cats are simply learning from previous seasons.
Dangerfield appeared banged up late in 2020 and last year and the Cats probably can’t uncork the champagne in September without a healthy Dangerfield. That’s probably why they have implemented a rotation policy this season. Surely Dangerfield will be rotating through the engine room once again next week.