GEELONG is hopeful Tom Stewart's knee injury is on the 'minor' end of the scale after a heavy knock during an upset seven-point loss to St Kilda.
Stewart appeared to hit the point of his kneecap on the Marvel Stadium turf, and struggled to run from the field. He returned for a brief time with a heavy bandage but was subbed from the game midway through the second term.
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Cats coach Chris Scott was brief when asked about the severity of the injury in his post-match press conference.
"Their (medical team) first impression is that its minor," Scott said.
Star recruit Bailey Smith was a late withdrawal due to a calf concern, but is a strong chance to return for next week's crunch clash with Brisbane.
"Very close this week. I'm led to believe it was more – if you were to describe our system when it comes to these things, if they're a chance to play, we give them as long as possible and then tend to be conservative, unless they're absolutely right," Scott said.
"The conservative nature of the decision-making suggests to me that he'll be right next week, but again, I'm probably the wrong person to ask, I'm just parroting what I'm told."
St Kilda jumped out to a 41-point lead halfway through the third, before Geelong ground its way back into the game, ultimately falling just short.
"In the end, we got the shots, we gave ourselves a chance to win. That's the positive – so many things were going against us in that game, it would have been easy to turn your toes up and say 'it's not our night', and you end up losing by 50 or 60 points. We really had a chance to win, if a few things had have gone our way, we might have snuck over the line.
"If you go back to the start, sometimes you can focus too much on what you're not doing, and you don't give enough credit to the opposition. Forget all the cliches you hear from commentators who don't know what they're talking about around intensity, I just thought [St Kilda] were clean.
"We couldn't get the ball forward enough, but when we did, they were able to bounce it out really quickly. It's obvious to everyone that their kicking skills at this venue are at a really high level. You need to have enough pressure on them to create a little bit of doubt. It wasn't just their kicking skills, we knew that was a threat, it was their ability to work their way out of any sort of pressure."
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon confirmed Liam Stocker would miss next week against Richmond after suffering a concussion, hitting his head on the turf as he lay a crunching tackle just before half-time.
Lyon was pleased with the response from his side after a heavy loss to Adelaide the week prior.
"They were coming off good form, we were coming off – well, we weren't pleased, and we just wanted some improvement. But I thought our pressure all night – we sustained above two, which is elite," Lyon said.
"We went back to the ball and stayed close, which is where we think the game's at. I really loved watching the Bulldogs-Collingwood game, the contest and the tackling. I think it's a fundamental of where AFL footy is at, because you can move the ball when you get it – you never used to be able to because of the new rules – it puts a premium on winning the ball."
Both teams were pretty even when it came to experience – the Saints had seven players with fewer than 50 games, the Cats had eight – but being able to hold onto a win in the face of a charging opponent will hold St Kilda in good stead.
"You can't buy belief. Confidence comes from action. All it is, is a feeling and emotion. We'll be more confident in what we're asking them to do," Lyon said.
"I think more importantly, when we give great effort and we all buy in, where it can take you. It won't guarantee us, but it will certainly create more opportunities than not."
