GEELONG hasn’t ruled out captain Joel Selwood featuring in one of the club’s pre-season matches.
The 31-year-old underwent post-season hamstring surgery last year and is being eased back into full training.
However, assistant coach Corey Enright says there is a chance he will play against either Gold Coast on February 22 or Essendon on March 9.
When asked how Selwood was tracking, Enright replied: “Going well; going really well”.
“He’s done a mountain of work, as you would expect from such a professional.
“Once he’s ready to go, he’ll be fine.”
However, Enright wasn’t as confident on Mitch Duncan, who had surgery on his hip before Christmas, appearing before Round 1.
“I’m not too sure at this stage,” he said. “We’ve still got a fair way to go with our preparation.
“A lot of our players are in preparation mode still.
“Whether they play half-a-game, one game, two games, it all depends on the individual a little bit and where they are at.
“All our guys are tracking really well, so we’re looking forward to the start of the season.
“We’ve got a long time until that happens, so there’s a fair bit of training to go.”
Twenty-four members of the Cats’ 46-man list were involved in Thursday’s match simulation/training session with Collingwood at GMHBA Stadium.
Among those missing from the session that were part of last year’s preliminary final team, aside from departed midfielder Tim Kelly, were Selwood, Duncan, Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Ablett, Jake Kolodjashnij, Jack Henry, Brandan Parfitt, Sam Menegola, Luke Dahlhaus and Mark O’Connor.
Former St Kilda midfielder Jack Steven was also missing, as was Gary Rohan and the luckless Nakia Cockatoo.
However, the Cats’ first draft pick Cooper Stephens, rookie Brad Close and uncapped 2018 draftees Ben Jarvis and Jacob Kennerley also took to GMHBA Stadium.
Enright says former Geelong Falcon Stephens has been “pretty good” since arriving at the club in late November with pick No.16.
“Coming into our system is going to be a bit difficult, but he’s come in, and he’s a good quality kid,” Enright said.
“He learns a lot, and he’s a bit of a sponge and works with the other midfielders.
“No doubt, early stages look positive for Cooper.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
