An eleventh hour venue switch sees the red-hot Bendigo Bank Cats hosting the Bendigo Bombers in a curtain raiser at Skilled Stadium on Sunday.
VFL and club officials yesterday inspected the drought-ravaged Queen Elizabeth Oval and declared the ground unsafe for football.
The corresponding match in round 20 this season, originally scheduled as an AFL curtain raiser at Skilled Stadium, will now be played in Bendigo on Sunday, August 26.
Steven King is free to play this weekend after being cleared of a tripping charge by the VFL tribunal on Tuesday night.
Coach Leigh Tudor confirmed last night that the Cats’ defensive stocks will be bolstered with the return of Stephen Owen and Tim Callan from injury.
“Steve Owen and Tim Callan will definitely be back this week,” he said.
“Steve Owen has missed two weeks and Tim Callan has missed just one with a corky, so it will be good to see them back in the backline.”
Geelong will enter the round six clash on the back of four successive victories boasting the competition’s healthiest percentage (157.64) and as the competition’s most prolific scorer (640).
The rampaging Geelong juggernaut is still building momentum and last week showed no sign of relenting in its 81-point obliteration of Casey.
All indicators lead to a similar dismantlement this weekend with the Cats facing the 11th placed Bendigo Bombers, who have conceded the third highest points against this season.
But Bendigo, who claimed the scalp of the Northern Bullants in round two and pushed Sandringham and Williamstown all the way in recent weeks, pose a challenge when firing on all cylinders says Tudor.
“They try to run and carry the ball and move it as quickly as they can and they’re a good side when they’re playing well,” he said.
“They’re going to have some good quality Bendigo players as well as the Essendon listed players, so we expect a pretty tough match.”
Geelong’s sustained luck on the injury front means only a handful of VFL listed players will be required again this weekend.
“We’ll probably have four or five this week – we’ve got a squad put together, but with a couple of injuries we’ve got to give them another couple of days to settle down,” Tudor said.
“James Byrne and (Phil) Read will definitely play, then it will be out of (Jacob) McGuane, (Tom) Couch, (Jay) Cheep, (Matt) Firman and (James) McTaggart.”
Along with the perennially successful Sandringham, Geelong’s talent-laden squad has set the benchmark so far this season.
The cornerstone of the Cats’ dominance this season centres on the application of the senior listed players vying for senior selection.
Geelong last week delivered on Tudor’s key focus of a consistent four-quarter performance, but inaccuracy ultimately hindered a challenge for the team’s first 100-point victory in five seasons.
“All the senior players played well last week – we could have put 10 players in our best, which was a good effort,” Tudor said.
“All the AFL players are putting their hands up to play.”
Geelong has a history of belting Bendigo into submission, with the two of the team’s best scores and biggest win coming against the Bombers.
The action gets underway at 9.40am on Sunday. Gates open at 9.30am.
