GEELONG coach Chris Scott is confident Esava Ratugolea will have overcome a “minor” hamstring issue sustained in the win over Richmond 12 days ago in time for him to play against Port Adelaide on Saturday night.
The Cats took the cautious approach with Ratugolea against the Tigers, with the big man sitting out a majority of the second half.
“With the break, it looks as if he’ll be available, which is really positive for us,” Scott said.
In more good news for Geelong, which has one of the AFL’s smallest injury lists, midfielder Sam Menegola is close to a return after undergoing minor knee surgery last month, while veteran defender Lachie Henderson will play in the VFL after overcoming another bout of plantar fasciitis.
Scott says at what level Menegola returns is yet to be determined.
“We haven’t decided whether he’ll come straight back into the AFL team or not,” Scott said.
“But, irrespective, he won’t play this week, but he’s getting closer.”
Henderson was a chance to play before Geelong’s bye.
“If you had spoken to him prior to the Richmond VFL game pre-bye, then he would have said he was ready to go, and probably he was,” Scott said.
“But it didn’t make much sense to us to have him play limited game time and then have the week off.
“He wouldn’t have gained that much, and he’s had two weeks of really good training, and is ready to play well at VFL footy, in our view.”
Scott says the bye came at a good time for other players managing minor concerns.
“There are some other guys, as is the case with most AFL footballers half-way through a season, who have got some bumps and bruises who are feeling demonstrably better for the week off,” he said.
“We’re confident our preparation’s been good.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
Email: kingy@geelongbroadcasters.com
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