By Luke Voogt
Versatile midfielder Mitch Duncan is set to return from injury in a huge boost for Geelong Cats against Port Adelaide in Friday night’s qualifying final.
“Mitch Duncan will play,” Cats coach Chris Scott told a press conference on Wednesday.
The Cats had been “conservative” with Duncan’s return after he suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury in round 14 ten weeks ago, according to Scott.
“We think he probably could’ve played before this,” he said.
“It’s been a really long, slow, deliberate recovery that ensured this knee won’t affect him at the latter stages of his career.
“There was enough fat in the plan, even with the abolished pre-finals bye, that he would play in the finals series.
“He’s a flexible player and a really hard runner.
“He’s getting close to 50 days running now. And there are some comparisons around the competition of guys who have had that PCL injury who have come back much much quicker.
“Which gives you an indication of how much work he’s been able to do [and] gives us the scope to play him in a variety of positions without being concerned that he hasn’t done enough work.”
Scott said the Cats had “moved on as a collective really quickly” after squandering a 44-point third quarter lead in their after-the-siren loss to minor premiers Melbourne.
“There’s things we learned in the last 40 minutes that we think will help us.”
Scott paid respect to the likes of Ollie Wines, Travis Boak, Karl Amon and Robbie Gray, and said Geelong was examining its best structures to take on the Power’s dual ruck setup and midfield.
He expected dynamic forward Gary Rohan to be “crucial” in Geelong’s finals campaign.
“He’s going to be a handful for the opposition,” he said.
“His statistical output doesn’t reflect his value to the team.”
The Cats were in hard quarantine this week preparing for the trip to Adelaide, with Scott expecting to play the next game in Perth regardless of Friday night’s result.
The result would also have little bearing on Zach Tuohy’s return, with the defender to play whether Geelong win and reach the preliminary final, or lose and face a semi-final next week, Scott said.
Geelong’s entire list will travel for the finals but the fixture is “not quite set in stone”, Scott said.
“It’s certainly not the AFL’s fault, they’re moving heaven and earth as far as we can tell, but the goalposts keep getting moved on them.”
Scott said the Cats were ready to adapt and “make the best of an ever-changing situation”.
“We’re not asking for it to be more chaotic, but we’re ready for it,” he said.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that Optus Stadium in Perth was the league’s preferred venue if the MCG is unavailable on grand final day due to Victoria’s COVID-19 situation.
Geelong captain Joel Selwood is set to equal club games record-holder Corey Enright when he leads the Cats out against the Power for his 332nd game.
