Cats optimistic Holmes plays in AFL GF

Geelong are optimistic Max Holmes will be fit for the AFL grand final despite the young Cats speedster suffering a hamstring injury.

The 20-year-old looked devastated after being subbed out of Friday night’s preliminary final win over the Brisbane Lions in the third quarter.

Holmes punched the ground in anger on the bench, seeming to indicate he had suffered a serious injury that would definitely rule him out of the September 24 decider.

But Cats coach Chris Scott is hopeful Holmes will be right to face either Sydney or Collingwood in the grand final.

“It’s not like an injury that’s going to absolutely rule him out,” Scott told reporters after Geelong’s emphatic 18.12 (120) to 7.7 (49) win.

“They haven’t given me the detail yet, except that they’re optimistic that he’ll play.

“It didn’t look like that to me, so that made a good night better.”

Scott is comfortable his medical staff will make the right call for Holmes and the team.

“I went down there thinking the worst (about Holmes), but I bounced out of the rooms.

“It’s not a sure thing but the quality of our medical staff, when they say they’re optimistic, it gets me up on my toes.

“I don’t have all the information, I just trust the medicos.”

But nothing could take the shine of Geelong saving their best performance of 2022 for a preliminary final, a weekend that has often brought out their worst in the last decade.

The Cats are one win away from securing their 10th VFL/AFL premiership, and first since 2011.

The most consistent team of recent times will enter the grand final on a 15-game winning streak and as warm favourites to make Scott a two-time premiership coach.

“We thought we were in a really good shape going into this game, and we’ll take that feeling into next week as well,” Scott said.

“There’s always a level of anxiety when the stakes are so high, and the execution from our team over the last three or four months has been really good.

“Save for a few missed shots early on when we could have put them away, it was a good performance.”

Geelong are no longer relying on superstars like Patrick Dangerfield, Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins to fire, with the Cats boasting significant depth they have not had in previous years.

“The players we don’t have in our team at the moment, if you had said that to me 12 weeks ago, I would have flatly refused to believe you,” Scott said.

“Our team has changed and it’s been happening for a while.”