Geelong forward Jay Polkinghorne is putting his name up in lights, with coach Chris Scott saying it's a matter of when he debuts, not if.
Polkinghorne impressed in the pre-season, and was pushing for an AFL opportunity amid uncertainty around Jeremy Cameron's fitness. The reigning Coleman Medallist has missed one match this year, while Shannon Neale (16 matches) and Oliver Henry (15) have filled the key forward roles.
Since he was drafted by the Cats ahead of 2025, Polkinghorne has kicked 46.28 in 22 VFL games, and has averaged three goals in five outings this season.
"He's been talked about a lot," Scott said.
"He's a little bit different to some of our other forwards and that's a good thing for him, because he does offer a point of difference, and I'm confident enough to say when he comes into our AFL team that he'll be a bit different for us. And in a positive way.
"Go right back to the pre-season games, he looked at home at the level. Probably shouldn't call it AFL level, (they were) AFL pre-season games but he still looked like he had something to offer.
"We're still bullish about the long term there. The short term is a little more challenging for him, but as I said, he's being spoken about, which is a good start."
Cameron's health remains a topic of conversation as his form wavers while he battles a sore arm that was fractured in last year's grand final loss.
The star Cat was held to just two kicks in the Brisbane defeat and failed to hit the scoreboard, a rare feat he's achieved twice in the past month.
Scott, when quizzed on how to increase Cameron's influence, reflected on how he's been battling.
"He knows his body well. It's obviously frustrating for him at the moment that he's not feeling as good as he has at times in his career," he said.
"He's got some ideas on (how to help increase his influence). We've thrown around some things this week that are worthy of consideration but this is something that has been an issue for him for virtually all the year.
"And probably, when you look at it, there's been ups and downs. He's saying he's in good enough shape to finish out the year with more ups than downs."
Cameron, on a whole, has still produced a strong season to date, ranking fourth in the Coleman Medal race with 39 majors.
But his influence on games has wavered, and on four occasions, has registered less than 10 disposals, with four possessions against Lions defender Darcy Gardiner resulting in a brutal self-assessment.
"I'm normally pretty relaxed about my football," he said on the Ausmerican Aces podcast.
"And I don't take football home with me too often but I was bloody pissed off driving back down the highway to the farm about my personal game. It was borderline pathetic. Hats off to Darcy Gardiner, who played a ripping game and beat me on the night."
