Geelong coach Chris Scott is remaining an “optimist” and believes the Cats can maintain their premiership defence alive by qualifying for finals.
The Cats’ top-eight hopes acquired one other blow on Friday night time once they went all the way down to Collingwood by eight factors – 16.13 (109) to fifteen.11 (101) – on the MCG.
Already with out premiership heroes Tom Hawkins, Jack Henry, Mark Blicavs and Cam Guthrie, Geelong’s harm checklist may very well be prolonged with Gary Rohan and Rhys Stanley pulling up sore with hip illnesses towards the Magpies.
Forward Rohan was subbed out and ruckman Stanley completed the match on the bench, with the pair to be monitored forward of subsequent Saturday night time’s conflict with St Kilda.
Geelong (10-1-10) have to win each their remaining video games towards the Saints and Western Bulldogs to keep away from lacking the finals for the primary time since 2015.
Even in the event that they win each video games, it isn’t assured the Cats can be secure and the workforce that ended 2022 by profitable 16-straight might end this spherical as little as twelfth.
“I think we can play better, no doubt about that,” Scott mentioned.
“But two games to go, do I think we can win them? Yep.
“We’ve bought two video games to go, and we predict we will play properly sufficient to beat any workforce within the comp after we play our greatest.
“We can play well enough to win the last two games and play in the finals. I’m an optimist.”
Hawkins, who has missed the final two weeks with a hamstring harm, might return towards the Saints.
Geelong are weighing up the right way to reintroduce Guthrie again into the workforce after he has been sidelined since spherical six with a toe criticism.
Guthrie might play within the VFL, or Scott might threat the midfielder because the substitute towards the Cats.
If Hawkins can return, he would be a part of an in-form Jeremy Cameron, who ran riot with seven objectives towards the Magpies to rediscover his devastating early-season kind.
Cameron threatened to swing the sport again within the Cats’ favour, extremely kicking his fifth and sixth objectives of the match whereas standing utterly out of bounds because the umpires inexplicably did not blow the whistle.
Scott claimed he hadn’t seen the replay of Cameron’s last-quarter objective when he clearly kicked the ball from outdoors the boundary.
“I actually didn’t see it. People that know the game well say that it wasn’t outside the boundary,” Scott mentioned.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae felt the umpires clearly bought it improper.
“We make mistakes, I make plenty,” he mentioned.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
