Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats
Chris Scott is keen to get Patrick Dangerfield back into the Geelong lineup before the mid-season bye, while predicting that Cam Guthrie will be out for several weeks.
Guthrie (achilles) and Gary Rohan (adductor) played in last week’s heavy loss to Gold Coast in Darwin but are out of the Cats’ side for Saturday’s home game against Greater Western Sydney due to “short-term” injuries.
Guthrie’s latest setback follows a quadriceps injury that delayed his season start by two months.
“Cam Guthrie has an achilles issue that’s flared up a bit, which the medical staff are eager to address, but they believe it’ll be short-term,” Scott said.
“However, he needs continuity in his training and playing.
“So while we’re confident he’ll return, we need to be mindful of his reintegration because we don’t want him missing too much training.
“And if games interfere with that, then we’ll hold him back.”
Scott mentioned that Rohan has a “really acute” adductor issue, and Geelong is being cautious by leaving him out against the Giants.
Dangerfield will miss a fourth consecutive match after re-injuring his left hamstring during the round-eight win over Carlton.
The Cats’ captain has been training with teammates recently and is getting closer to a return, though the exact date is still uncertain.
Geelong face Richmond and Sydney over the next two weeks before a bye in round 14.
“He looks sharp and will have completed a good couple of weeks of training before we even consider him,” Scott said.
“It’s likely we’ll hold him back a bit, but I watched him train today and two days ago, and he looked ready to play now.
“That’s not the path we’re taking, but it’s possible there may be no reason not to play him next week, although I suspect we’ll hold him back.”
Geelong (7-3) aim to end a three-match losing streak when they host GWS (6-4).
The Giants have lost four of their past five matches but have won on their last three trips to GMHBA Stadium.
