Geelong head coach Chris Scott faces a nervous week on the training track after a trifecta of key names finished Friday night under separate injury clouds.
In a night where the Cats finished 19-points in arrears of their unfancied visitors in GWS, integral names including Patrick Dangerfield, Zach Tuohy and Gary Rohan suffered an array of ailments by the time the final siren had sounded.
However, a raft of other helpful names are set to return for the Pivot City team in next week's clash against St Kilda.
Dangerfield's night came to a close during the first-term after the 31-year-old's throat was collected by Toby Greene's elbow.
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield has been subbed out after this incident.#AFLCatsGiants pic.twitter.com/lwOhNoj3Ga
— AFL (@AFL) August 6, 2021
The Moggs Creek man spent several minutes on the bench in the hands of the Hoops' medical staff following the clash and appeared to be having trouble breathing.
Although said vision was sure to have left Cats fans with their hearts in their mouth, Scott claimed that even though Dangerfield had been taken to hospital after being subbed out of the contest, the injury was not as serious as it looked.
“My understanding is he got that contact to the throat region and was having trouble breathing,” Scott revealed in his post game press conference.
“I think they took him to hospital as a precaution as much as anything. We haven’t got any further update. I think it’s probably good news that we haven’t got a negative update.
“I’m being told that he’s going to stay in overnight, but he’s feeling fine. (It’ll be) probably a good 24 hours before we know the full extent of it, but I think there’s a reasonable level of confidence that it’s not a serious injury.”
Geelong have since provided an update on their star onballer, revealing the veteran has dodged significant damage and could be in line for next week's clash with St Kilda.
"Patrick Dangerfield has been cleared of significant injury after suffering a blow to his throat last night," a Geelong statement read.
"Scans this morning showed bruising of his laryngeal but no fracture to the area. He has been discharged from hospital and is resting at home.
"Dangerfield’s availability for next weekend’s game will be assessed later in the week."
Greene's elbow is almost certain to draw the attention of the MRO during the week, with Fox Sport's Ben Waterworth likening the incident to one that saw Melbourne's Bailey Fritsch handed a one-week ban after colliding with young Kangaroo, Tom Powell.
Despite the fact his star was on the receiving end of the clash, Scott offered a balanced view on how the opening quarter encounter should be adjudicated.
“I’m a little bit of a believer that contact in the moment is a little bit overplayed these days because of the improvement in camera angles and close-ups and slow motion,” the head coach said.
“I’d need to look at a little bit closer to give you a really well reasoned opinion, but I just encourage people to look at those things in real time.
"Sometimes contact happens that looks bad in a still or in slow motion or leads to a serious injury, but I don’t think that necessarily means that you know the action in the context of AFL footy is as bad as it can look when you magnify these things.”
Dangerfield himself escaped a ban in the aftermath of last season's Grand Final after his elbow collected Richmond defender Nick Vlastuin above the shoulders during the first-term of the decider.
In further injury news for the humbled Kardinia Park club, mobile defender Zach Tuohy faces a hampered run towards September after finishing the night on the bench with a hamstring strain, while redheaded roving forward Gary Rohan sat alongside him with what has been described as a hip complaint.
In spite of the fact he has no history with such incidents, Scott claimed that the Cats would be without Tuohy's services for the next fortnight.
“Zach Tuohy, as is often the case with a player who’s never done a hamstring before, is a bit unsure, but our medical staff were pretty confident that he does have a hamstring injury,” Scott said.
“We’re not sure the extent to that, but you would think that that would keep him out for a little bit. A couple of weeks, at least, is my best guess.”
Irrespective of the fact that he appeared in a fair bit of discomfort for portions of last night's loss, Scott claimed Rohan's hip complaint was less of a concern in his mind.
“He was a bit wounded from really early in the game. It was more a hip issue that we don’t think is very serious,” Scott said.
“We certainly would’ve taken him out of the game earlier if we thought there was a risk of injury, but he just didn’t get better.
“He’s had issues like this in the past, so it gives us some confidence that it’s not serious and it’s something that he can overcome pretty quickly.”
As mentioned, Geelong could be facing a boost of up to four-names for their Round 22 fixture against the Saints, with Jeremey Cameron, Issac Smith, Mark O'Connor and Lachie Henderson all rated as better than likely to lace the boots.
“Something would have to change over the next week for Cameron not to play,” Scott said.
“I’d say the same for Henderson, same for O’Connor. (Tom) Atkins might be a little bit behind them.”
The Cats blew a golden opportunity to gain ground on the ladder leading Bulldogs last night, but have a further two chances to make up the difference as they round out their regular season fixture against the Saints and Demons respectively.
