{"id":386636,"date":"2024-04-20T23:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T23:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=386636"},"modified":"2024-04-21T00:03:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T00:03:19","slug":"cats-to-face-daunting-blues-challenge-minus-star-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=386636","title":{"rendered":"Cats to face daunting Blues challenge minus star back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geelong<\/a> is now the only undefeated side in the league after six rounds, and they'll have to face their next challenge without premiership defender Tom Stewart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stewart was ruled out of the Cats 26-point win over Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday night, after \ufeffan unfortunate and accidental head knock with Lion Kai Lohmann in the second term.<\/p>\n

The five-time All-Australian jumped to spoil Lohmann's ball, but clashed his jaw with the back of his opposition's head, with the force pushing him backward and he landed flat on his back.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Crazy' list of perks Matildas were once denied<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Reporter's 'awkward' request stuns sports world<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

AS IT HAPPENED:<\/strong> Saturday NRL action\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He looked in agony as he was attended to by club doctors, who quickly rushed him off to undergo his HIA.<\/p>\n

Failing that, Stewart was subsequently ruled out with concussion, meaning he'll now be forced to sit out the Cats blockbuster clash with Carlton in round seven.<\/p>\n

\"Stewart<\/p>\n

Cats two-time premiership coach Chris Scott\ufeff<\/a> said his side knew straight away that they'd be without Stewart in the second half, a brutal blow considering the heavy and wet conditions.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"It was really clear after halftime that he wasn't coming back on, so we moved on (with our structure)," Scott said post-match.<\/p>\n

"I find it really difficult to convey the situation around this stuff (concussion).<\/p>\n

"We'd be really clear if … there's a concern there, but there's not.<\/p>\n

\"Stewart<\/p>\n

"But my opinion on how he's looking shouldn't be valued much at all."<\/p>\n

Now, the Cats must face up against Carlton's twin towers in Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow, who shared six goals between them in their 19-point takedown of the previously undefeated Giants in round six.<\/p>\n

Scott says thoughts around how they'll structure up have already begun.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"Some thought will be required. There's no one we can replace that will be at Tom Stewart's level," he said.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/GeelongCats\/status\/1781655858319179974<\/a><\/p>\n

"But we've been really clear for a long time that we think the best team will have to use a big squad. Depth is really important.<\/p>\n

"This (Stewart out) tests us a little bit in terms of depth."<\/p>\n

The Cats depth stood up to last year's grand finalists away from home, with youngster Ollie Dempsey thrown back alongside power forward Jeremy Cameron.<\/p>\n

Geelong managed to restrict the Lions to just one goal after halftime, which was scored early in the third term.<\/p>\n

\"Ollie<\/p>\n

Zach Guthrie, Jack Henry, Jake Kolodjashnij and Sam De Koning held their own, with another challenge against Carlton's quick forwards lying ahead.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"Carlton's forward line forces you to think … about how you set up.\ufeff But it's a great opportunity for our younger key backs," Scott said.<\/p>\n

"Stewart wouldn't have played on either of those guys (Curnow and McKay) anyway, but he does help."<\/p>\n

Despite the obvious hole that will be left, Scott says his Cats will prepare accordingly in hopes of overcoming a fast-improving Carlton side, who sit 5-1 after six rounds.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"It's not insurmountable, we're up for the challenge," he said.<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Cats and Blues will face off on Saturday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geelong is now the only undefeated side in the league after six rounds, and they'll have to face their next challenge without premiership defender Tom […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":386638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=386636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":386642,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386636\/revisions\/386642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/386638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=386636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=386636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=386636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}