Gary Rohan one of three changes for Geelong ahead of round 8 clash with Melbourne
Geelong has backed its approach to injury management after losing captain Patrick Dangerfield to another hamstring injury, with two inclusions for Melbourne returning from injury.
Geelong coach Chris Scott says he’s “never been happier” with the Cats’ approach to injury management, despite losing Patrick Dangerfield to a second hamstring injury in five weeks.
Ahead of the Cats’ blockbuster clash against Melbourne, Scott said his skipper’s injury against Carlton last round was “just an unfortunate” incident but could see the club taking a more cautious approach with his return — even if Dangerfield was to respond quicker to the 4-6 week expected recovery time.
“It was an unusual mechanism, and that gives him a lot more confidence, it wasn’t anything innocuous, it was a really sort of high force stress on that hamstring,” Scott said.
“I don’t think many people would be able to cope with the position he got himself into.”
Despite some footy pundits questioning the introduction of high speed to the Cats’ pre-season program for players including Dangerfield, Scott said he’d “never been happier with our program in relation our injury management”.
However he acknowledged there was always room to question and evaluate their processes.
“We go through a whole range of issues really thoroughly, not just around injuries but form and how our team plays,” he said.
“It’s a good process to go through, to ask yourself what you would do differently if you had the chance.”
The Cats will welcome back an experienced forward from injury in lieu of Dangerfield, Gary Rohan one of three changes made at the selection table.
Rohan will make his first AFL appearance this year after a successful return from a back injury at VFL level, a week after Cam Guthrie made his own return for the Cats from a quad injury.
Star defender Tom Stewart also returns a fortnight after suffering a concussion against Brisbane, with Jhye Clark back in the 23-player squad after a week spell in the VFL.
They replace Dangerfield, and Brandan Parfitt and Mark O’Connor (both managed).
Scott said the Cats took a “patient and conservative approach” to Rohan’s return from injury, the 32-year-old returning through the VFL three weeks ago before kicking seven goals across his last two appearances.
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“He was ready to play by all metrics before he played VFL footy but we held him back and got more training in and had a little bit more VFL footy than he needed to come back into the AFL team,” Scott said of Rohan.
With the Cats clear on their intent to rest players this year, Scott said Parfitt and O’Connor’s management was no different to any other player to come out of the side, though he had no intention to leave any in-form player out for too long of a period.
Scott conceded the system “was not perfect” though, with some Geelong players stuck at VFL level due to the strong availability.
Originally published as Gary Rohan one of three changes for Geelong ahead of round 8 clash with Melbourne
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