By Justin Flynn
Geelong midfielder Sam Menegola is a chance to play against the Western Bulldogs in round 12, according to coach Chris Scott.
Menegola hasn’t played this season due to a knee injury but Scott was confident he would soon be available, saying “he’s a chance next week”.
“It’s been really frustrating for Sam because if you saw the way he’s training, he’s in supreme condition and he’s doing 95 per cent of the work, but there’s just five percent of what he needs to do in a game that’s still giving him some pain,” he said.
“The medical staff are confident this will turn around pretty quickly.
“This is more like what we expected after the surgery back in November but he just made such rapid progress that we thought that he might be way ahead and maybe that was a false dawn, we should have been a little more tempered in terms of our expectations.
“The good news is he’s running as well as he ever has, which is pretty well. So we think he’ll hit the ground running when he does come in and play some footy.”
Patrick Dangerfield won’t play until after the bye and will miss the next two games with a calf complaint.
Dangerfield will have three weeks rest, missing games against Adelaide and Western Bulldogs before Geelong’s midseason bye.
“Given there are two games before the bye, we can use that extra week, which is probably more than he needs, in reality,” Scott said.
“We think that’s going to have him in the best shape to have a really good run at the last couple of months of the season.”
Geelong takes on Adelaide at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday May 28 at 1.45pm.
Meanwhile Sophie Van De Heuvel has left Geelong and will join AFLW expansion club Essendon.
Van De Heuvel, 21, was an inaugural member of the Cats’ playing group, drafted with pick 2 in the 2018 draft, and has played 31 games across four seasons.
“Sophie has been an integral member of our playing squad since we entered the AFLW, and we thank her for all she has given the club,” Geelong Cats Head of AFLW and pathways Brett Johnson said.
“In addition to her on-field ability, we know Sophie’s new team will benefit from her warmth and kindness that the Cats have enjoyed over the past four years.”
