Geelong’s disappointing loss to Sydney has a silver lining with Joel Selwood’s ankle injury not as bad as first feared.
The Cats’ inspirational skipper was helped from Simonds Stadium in obvious pain in the second quarter of the 16.11 (107) to 8.13 (61) loss on Friday night.
He was able to return in the second half but hurt the same ankle in a Lance Franklin tackle and was ruled out of the game early in the final term.
With star teammate Patrick Dangerfield suspended for the match, the sight of Selwood limping off was a nightmare scenario for Cats’ fans.
But coach Chris Scott offered an optimistic assessment after the match.
“I’m actually confident enough to say now that he’ll be fine,” Scott told reporters.
“Clearly in the last quarter, the discussion was around whether we should keep pushing him through and make his chances of playing next week lower.
“So given that, we sit here pretty confident that he’ll be OK.”
The Cats will be looking to get their push for a top-two finish back on track next Saturday when they host Richmond.
Geelong trailed by 25 points at three-quarter time but shot themselves in the foot with some undisciplined acts.
Dan Hannebery booted the opening major of the last quarter, but Tom Papley was gifted another shot at goal soon after when Mitch Duncan infringed.
To rub salt into the wounds, Papley missed his first shot but was placed on the goalline after a 50m penalty was awarded, his goal giving his side a 37-point lead.
A week after Hawthorn’s Luke Hodge was suspended for a match for striking Papley in what appeared a borderline decision, Scott wasn’t thrilled with the umpire’s call.
“I’ve looked at it – and you’re allowed to have an opinion on these things – I think if the umpire who paid it has a look at the vision that I looked at I think he’ll be disappointed that he paid it,” the coach said.
“But that’s OK – mistakes happen.
“The more accurate question that we’re focused on is why did Mitch do it in the first place? It gave them reason to pay a free kick.”
Scott gave a not-so-subtle indication of his feelings about Papley’s reaction to his altercation with Duncan.
“They didn’t go to ground the same way in a contest, did they? he said.
“They were a bit stronger around the ball.”
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