By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
GEELONG will be out to prove to the Chicken Littles of the football world that the sky is still up where it belongs whether the Etihad Stadium roof is open or closed.
Carlton will most likely seek similar redemption after its embarrassing loss to cellar dweller Brisbane.
This Friday night’s clash of the two last-round losers will shed some light on how the respective clubs respond to embarrassment and humiliation.
Backline general Corey Enright is expected to return, marshalling the defensive troops and hoping to draw on their desire for vindication to get back on the winners list.
“It’s how we respond and how we train and I’m pretty sure the guys that took the field will be pretty filthy and pretty keen to get back to playing some good footy on Friday night,” Enright said.
The Cats will hope to reserve the revenge mantra – don’t get angry, get even – for another date with Sydney during the finals when it will count a lot more.
Helping the cause is the binary return of senior defender Tom Lonergan who suffered concussion during the Cats win against the Roos.
Lonergan admits he wasn’t in any fit state to go to Sydney, suffering side-effects such as feeling scattered and blurred vision, training at 10 to 15 per cent off reduced capacity.
The imminent return of another litter of injured Cats also bodes well for the second half of the season, including Allen Christensen and Josh Caddy.
Like the recently-returned Steven Motlop, both will need a couple of weeks to get up to speed, helped by playing a few homes games and avoiding most of the top sides.
Despite a horror re-introduction to AFL, Billie Smedts will be all the better for the run.
Geelong’s cause will also be helped by the evenness of the season, with a gap of just two games between second and 10th.
The stability offered by re-signing veteran James Kelly for 2015 will help also. The 30 year-old had been set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Enright’s name was still on the AFL’s updated list of 2014 free agents released this week but it’s hard to imagine him anywhere else.
