Young Cat plays down 'silly' ankle injury

Geelong young speedster Max Holmes shut down injury concerns with a stellar performance against Essendon on Friday night.

The Cats defeated the Bombers by 12 points at GMHBA Stadium, with Holmes collecting an impressive 29 disposals before being put on ice towards the end of the match.

The young star rolled his ankle in an innocuous tackle, but was seen all smiles on the bench, even giving the camera a thumbs up as he was being treated by medical staff.

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"I said no to putting the ice on because I knew that it would just be, I don't know, silly," Holmes said on Fox post match.

"Two weeks and we'll be right."

Meantime, the Cats played in front of a crowd of around 11,000 on Friday night, giving their players a small taste of what's to come when the new Joel Selwood stand officially opens in round one, taking the capacity to 40,000.

"We're pumped, we were just talking about that, it's already super loud now that it's all closed off.

"40,000 will come in (here) in a couple of weeks and we just can't wait for it."

Holmes gained 500 metres in the opening half playing across the wing and through the middle, proving his speed is only increasing the more time spent at the elite level.

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But when asked what position he'll play this season and if he'll take on a bigger middle role now that Cam Guthrie is sidelined for up to 10 weeks with a quad injury, Holmes remained coy.

"Not really sure at the moment. We're continually learning stuff in the pre-season and fidgeting around half back. It paid off today, but we'll have to change things here and there," Holmes said.

Despite not knowing his exact role for the upcoming season, Holmes says he's happy to play anywhere.

"I'm trying to get the coaches to fight for me, the line coaches," he joked.

Geelong assistant coach Steven King heaped praise on the 21-year-old, who sadly missed out on the Cats' 2022 flag after suffering a hamstring injury on grand final eve.

"Max is a really powerful athlete," Cats assistant coach and 2007 premiership player Steven King said post match.

"He gives us a lot around the ball and with the way the modern game's played now I think a lot of his attributes are suited to half-back.

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"You would've seen him tonight spend a lot of time around the ball as well.

"We feel like we've got a mature group with some great young guys coming up who can play in multiple positions and Max is one of those."

For Essendon, they may have a much more serious injury concern on their hands, with star defender Jordan Ridley going down with a suspected quad issue.

It comes just days after Ridley extended his contract until the 2029 season.

Geelong will host St Kilda in round one on Saturday, March 16 as the Cats unveil their new Selwood Stand, named after four-time premiership star Joel Selwood, increasing the capacity of GMHBA stadium to just over 40,000.