Rhys Stanley warms up ahead of the match between Geelong and the Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium in round 11, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

GEELONG coach Chris Scott has cast doubt over whether Rhys Stanley will return from a hamstring injury for the side’s preliminary final in a fortnight’s time, but has backed the veteran ruck to play a part in his side’s finals plans.

The versatile Mark Blicavs produced a standout performance in Stanley’s absence during the side’s dominant qualifying final victory over Brisbane on Friday night, but a defiant Scott guaranteed the 34-year-old was in his best team when fit.

The Cats do not believe Stanley would have recovered from a hamstring complaint in time for next week, had they not been rewarded with a week off, but opened the door for a potential return later in September.

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“It’s a complicated one for us,” Scott said after his side’s 38-point win over the Lions.

“We just want to wait a little bit before we communicate and potentially make an error.

“Obviously, it’s sensitive because I think it’s unlikely that he would have been right to play next week. But it makes the timeline a bit challenging. We would hate to put something out that’s misleading. We’ll just wait to get some certainty on that.”

Blicavs was among Geelong’s best in Stanley’s absence, producing an influential performance that included 20 disposals, 26 hitouts, six clearances, five tackles and a crucial goal to help extend the Cats’ lead at a pivotal moment in the match.

However, Scott said the club wouldn’t consider persisting with Blicavs playing as a lone ruck and reiterated Stanley would recover his place in the team should he regain full fitness later in the month. 

“No, Rhys would be in our team,” Scott said.

“He’s had a terrific year. I don’t think I should say this, but he’s been one of the very, very high-value players around the competition. It’s hard for people to judge, because they just don’t know what percentage of the salary cap players are taking up.

“At his age, to be playing the way he has played this year, is a real credit to him. I’d hate to give any impression that we wouldn’t be a better team with him in it.”

Scott joked that a colleague in the coaches’ box saved him from having to watch a controversial double free kick to Cam Rayner until after the game, with the incident threatening to alter the momentum of the contest.

Rayner was gently nudged by his direct opponent Mark O’Connor before falling to the ground, earning a free kick on the goal line – well over 100m from where the ball was at the time – in a highly charged moment.

He then received a second free kick immediately after converting the first for a goal, having again fooled the umpire when he fell to the floor after being nudged once more by a remonstrating Zach Guthrie.

“I’m not going to comment on that, because I think it’s pretty obvious,” Scott said when quizzed on whether he thought Rayner had gone down too easily.

“But, funnily enough, I did try to find the vision. But it was so far away, you couldn’t see it in the behind the goals vision. Then, fortunately, one of my colleagues in the box said, ‘You don’t want to see it’, so I didn’t see it until post-game.”

Geelong led by 27 points before the double free kick, with the two Rayner goals reducing the margin to just 15 by half-time. However, Scott said he was pleased with the manner in which his Cats players responded to the contentious incident.

“Interestingly, we didn’t think it got out of control,” Scott said.

“In the box, we thought there was not much we could do about it. The emphasis for us was making sure the players didn’t get too frustrated by it. I thought that, for the most part, was handled pretty well on our part.

“It’s just one of those things. Obviously, I’ll let you guys talk about because I don’t really want to talk about it, but I was pleased with the composure of our guys.

“I’ve been at the Cats for a while, but I don’t think I’ve heard our crowd as engaged as they were. Maybe that’s something that sparked them even more. They were almost getting taunted there at one stage.

“Even in the box, which is pretty well insulated, we could tell the crowd was up and about. You wouldn’t want to design it that way, but it did add a little bit of extra spice.”