There is an air of mystery surrounding the fitness of Geelong ruck Rhys Stanley, but Cats coach Chris Scott has made it very clear he won’t be drawn on selection secrets ahead of their qualifying final against Brisbane on Friday night.
Geelong have a number of selection dilemmas to work out ahead of Friday’s crunch blockbuster, with key forward Shannon Neale set to return from suspension and Mark O’Connor fit to play again after a minor leg injury.
But the availability of Stanley could be of most concern after he was conspicuously absent from the Cats’ final training session on Thursday.
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Scott kept his cards close to his chest when asked about the veteran ruck before teams had to be declared on Thursday night.
“Well, this is a little bit of an unusual situation for us in that (we’re) doing this press conference before the teams go in,” he said.
“So we’re just going to let that play out and we’ll decide. What time do they (the teams) go in? Six o’clock? We’ve got a few minor things we’re still sort of working through.
“I think you know me well enough to know that I tend not to give a running commentary on these things.
“So, yeah, I think it, well, I’m sure it’ll become clearer once we pick our team.
“But as I said, it’s been pretty stable, so it’s unlikely to be too different.”
Also not seen on the track was recently crowned AFL Coaches’ Association MVP and All-Australian star Bailey Smith.
Though Scott said there was “no concern” over the midfielder ahead of his first final in the blue and white.
Jed Bews and Mitch Knevitt were brought into the team to replace Neale and O’Connor last week.
Asked if it would be as simple as swapping them back out, Scott was again “evasive”.
“I do appreciate you asking the question,” he said.
“I just hope that, you know, you appreciate the deliberate evasiveness of my answer, that the teams aren’t out for another, whatever it is, five or six hours.”
With just one player officially on their injury list — ruckman Toby Conway — Geelong go into a rematch of last year’s preliminary final in top shape.
Forward Ollie Henry is in line for a recall, having not played since the round-18 defeat to GWS.
Henry booted four goals, including the Cats’ only two majors of the final quarter, in the 10-point preliminary final loss against the Lions last year.
- With AAP
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