Geelong coach Chris Scott has lauded the club’s “high performing” medical staff for helping get Max Holmes fit for Friday night’s elimination final win over Carlton.

Scott admitted to having some “trepidation” to play Holmes after the star midfielder suffered a broken ankle and high-grade syndesmosis injury against St Kilda in Round 19.

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But the 25-year old pushed to return well ahead of schedule in an injury that was initially expected to sideline him for the remainder of the season.

Holmes finished with 15 disposals — 10 in the second half — in a game-low 60 per cent time on ground.

“I’m told that’s a ridiculously quick recovery from that injury. You can’t help but have some trepidation about making the decision to play him, and I don’t mind saying that,” Scott told reporters after the 33-point win over Carlton.

“It wasn’t the deciding factor, but that medical team was so confident that him playing tonight would have him in better shape for next week, which is really saying something.

“When I did try and give them a pat on the back, they just turned around and said: ‘Look, he was unbelievable with the way he went about it’.

“I don’t rank them, but if you held a gun to my head and asked who’s been our best player over the last three years, I think I’d say him.

“It was really challenging when we lost him, but it was also really challenging making the decision to play him tonight, hoping we still have a few more weeks in our season.”

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Scott also acknowledged the confidence players have in the medical staff for Gryan Miers’ strong form.

Miers was among Geelong’s best on Friday night with two goals from 24 disposals in a season he’s been hampered by a partially torn ACL injury including spending time in the VFL.

“Yes, it has taken some mental resilience. Anyone would feel doubts with the suggestion of that sort of injury. It’s a bit dangerous to say he has an ACL issue, because everyone thinks the worst when they hear that,” he said.

“We’ve had a couple of examples this year, Max Holmes is a perfect example and Jeremy Cameron is a good one as well, of why our players have so much faith in our medical staff. They are a very, very high performing group of people.

“I know from experience, when you have that faith in those people, it’s so reassuring … it’s a real credit to that team.”

Geelong now look ahead to a tough away trip to Perth for a semi-final clash with minor premier Fremantle.

The Geelong coach was “really confident” in his group ahead of the daunting assignment, pointing to how effectively the club has managed its list and veteran players.

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Patrick Dangerfield is living proof. The 36-year old skipper starred with five goals from 21 disposals against Carlton in arguably his best game of the season.

“We’ve put a lot of thought into — and we have for a long, long period of time, probably the whole time I’ve been at Geelong — the way we think about managing our list dominates a lot of our time,” Scott said.

“Sometimes it works really well, sometimes it doesn’t quite work out, but it’s never because of a flippant decision.

“Patty (Dangerfield) is a good example, he understands the way we think about it and obviously he drives that decision making process as well.

“He’s had a number of problems this year he’s had to overcome. In his words, he feels like he’s coming good at the right time.

“I think it actually sounds a bit arrogant when we say things like that: ‘We’re just pacing ourselves for September.’

“That’s not the world we live in. If we ever did, we don’t now, the competition is way too tough.

“If we don’t perform well next week, it won’t be through a lack of thought or some impediment in our preparation.”

But Scott wasn’t underestimating the Dockers, despite their disastrous home qualifying final loss to Hawthorn.

“I probably need a bit more time to digest it. I watched it on TV, which doesn’t always help with the whole picture,” Scott said.

“I might be going a bit early if I give my opinion tonight. Even when you think about it casually, they didn’t get to where they were without having a lot of capability.

“It doesn’t mean they can necessarily roll it out after I’m sure what they would consider to be less than their best.

“I don’t think the result last night or the way they played will influence our thinking too much. But that’s sort of our normal process, anyway, think about what teams can do at their best. Their best is daunting.”