Cats midfielder in doubt for round one; Harley Reid quiet in first West Coast outing

Geelong have been dealt a blow on the eve of their 2024 campaign, with midfielder Cam Guthrie likely to miss the round one clash against St Kilda after injuring his quad in the opening minute of Thursday’s match simulation against Carlton.

The Cats will meet on Monday to assess the full extent of the injury, amid fears the 31-year-old may be unavailable for the opening rounds.

Cam Guthrie limped off the field in the match simulation against Carlton on Thursday.

A club spokesperson confirmed that a full assessment of Guthrie’s injury was expected to occur on Monday, but would not comment further until after that was completed.

Guthrie played just six matches last season after a foot injury he suffered in round six required surgery and forced him out for the rest of the year. His fresh injury to his right leg was sustained when he took the first kick of the match against Carlton on Thursday.

“[It’s] quad, but we don’t know the severity of it,” Cats assistant coach James Rahilly said after the match.

Guthrie has twice won the Cats’ best and fairest award – firstly in the grand final year of 2020 and again in 2022 when the club won the premiership and he tied for the award with Jeremy Cameron.

The Cats missed his experience, leadership and class last year as they failed to reach the finals for the first time since 2016 and put time into developing a group of emerging midfielders, including Tanner Bruhn, Jhye Clark and Max Holmes.

Other than Guthrie’s complaint and the niggling back injury that forced his premiership teammate Gary Rohan miss the match simulation at Ikon Park, the Cats are in good health. They play Essendon on Friday in a Community Cup match ahead of the official opening of the Joel Selwood stand when they play the Saints at GMHBA Stadium in round one.

It will be the first time the Cats have played St Kilda in round one since 2011 in what was Chris Scott’s first game as Geelong coach when he took on the Ross Lyon coached Saints. The Cats won that match by a point on their way to a flag, while the season turned out to be Lyon’s final season at St Kilda until his return last season.

Patrick Dangerfield will lead the Cats again in 2024 after injury interrupted his first season as captain.

The only encounter between the two teams last year was at Marvel Stadium in round 23, a match the Saints won by 33 points.

With the capacity at the home ground now increased to 40,000, the Cats are hoping for a full house, but there are still many tickets available for Saints supporters who want to watch their team in Geelong. Following its upgrade, GMHBA Stadium now has more seats for opposition supporters than were available during construction period.

St Kilda have not ruled out Marcus Windhager being available for the round one clash against the Cats even though he suffered a break in his hand on Friday afternoon during their match simulation against Essendon.

Windhager is one of a number of Saints who are touch and go for the round one clash. All-Australian defender Jack Sinclair, small forward Dan Butler and midfielder Hunter Clark are all borderline selections for the match, while Ben Paton has been ruled out with a pectoral injury and Paddy Dow is unavailable.

After a quiet start to the match, Harley Reid breaks clear of a pack for the West Coast Eagles.

Reid underwhelms, but Fyfe excites

The Harley Reid show didn’t quite live up to the hype, but Nat Fyfe wound back the clock with an impressive midfield display in Fremantle’s 52-point match simulation defeat of an under-strength West Coast.

The Eagles want Harley Reid to take the game on.

The Eagles trailed by 15 points at half-time of Saturday night’s match at Mineral Resources Park in Perth, but three goals to Dockers forward Jye Amiss in the third quarter broke the contest open as Fremantle ran away 14.14 (98) to 5.16 (46) winners.

Reid, playing in Eagles colours for the first time since being snared with pick No.1 in last year’s national draft, struggled to get into the contest despite playing long stints in the midfield.

The 18-year-old started in the centre circle alongside Tim Kelly and Elliot Yeo, but it took him more than 20 minutes to gather his first possession – a handball in the back pocket.

Reid showcased his potential a minute later with a run, bounce and bullet pass on the wing, and he laid some strong tackles to showcase his strength.

Going head-to-head against two-time Brownlow medallist Fyfe didn’t faze him either.

But Reid’s third quarter didn’t go to plan. He gave away a 50-metre penalty and missed a snap shot at goal. His dashing run and bounce from a kick-in did show his boldness and pace.

Nat Fyfe warms up for Fremantle before playing the first half of the match simulation game against West Coast.

Reid was left writhing in pain on the turf in the final quarter with a bad case of cramp, but he was able to jog from the field a short time later, much to the relief of Eagles fans.

“I think he (Reid) showed some good signs,” West Coast assistant Luke Webster said.

“I like the fact he’s trying to take the game on, and that’s what we want to see from him.”

West Coast also entered the match without the likes of Jeremy McGovern (soreness), Liam Ryan (hamstring), Jack Darling (hamstring), Dom Sheed (foot), Elijah Hewett (feet) and ex-Hawk Tyler Brockman (knee).

Fremantle were only missing Heath Chapman (hamstring) and Brennan Cox (leg) from their best 22.

Last year’s short-lived experiment of playing Fyfe in attack is now a distant memory, with the two-time Brownlow Medallist influential as a midfielder against West Coast.

Fyfe’s ability to win the hard ball and fire out a handball to teammates was invaluable, showcased by his goal assist for Sam Switkowski in the opening term.

Fyfe, Michael Walters, Switkowski and Alex Pearce were all subbed out at halftime.

Amiss dominated the third term, while Jackson kicked two in the last as Fremantle ran away with the win.

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