GEELONG young gun Jack Henry has put his hand up to be a surprise inclusion for round one after passing another key fitness test on Thursday night.
The 23-year-old underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his foot at the start of the year and has been facing a race against the clock to be fit in time for next Saturday's season-opener against Essendon at the MCG.
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AFL.com.au understands Henry has progressed to the point where he is back in the frame for selection after playing a practice match for the Cats' VFL side against strong local outfit Newtown and Chilwell at Deakin University in Waurn Ponds.
With Geelong playing Gold Coast in the final game of the AAMI Community Series on Monday night and not flying back to Victoria until Tuesday, the AFL program has been altered this week at GMHBA Stadium, which is why the club wanted Henry to play in the VFL alongside teammate Shannon Neale.
It is understood Henry played the full game on Thursday night and has pulled up well, copping the standard knocks and cuts from a game, but not experiencing any issues with his foot.
After finishing runner-up behind three-time All-Australian Tom Stewart in last year's best and fairest, Henry appeared unlikely to be fit in time only a few weeks ago but has made strong progress since then to put his hand up to face the Bombers.
Henry has banked a significant chunk of work away from the main group over the past couple of months under the guidance of club great Harry Taylor, who has returned to the club after 12 months back in Western Australia to perform a key role in the Cats high performance department as head of medical and conditioning services.
The Cats will have a full-scale training session at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday - seven days out from the Bombers clash - where a number of players returning from injury, including Henry, will aim to press their claims for round one selection.
Irishman Mark O'Connor remains in contention to play next weekend despite missing the practice matches against Richmond or Gold Coast over the past fortnight.
The 25-year-old was arguably Geelong's best trainer across the first two months of the pre-season but has been dealing with knee tendinitis recently.
O'Connor ran successfully on Thursday and will need to train strongly in Saturday's main training ahead of crucial sessions next week.
Jed Bews was the only injury issue to emerge from the trip to Queensland and is currently in the mandatory 12-day concussion protocols, which ends on the day of the season-opener.
Geelong unveiled its 2022 leadership group at Thursday night's season launch with Stewart elevated to co-vice-captain alongside superstar midfielder Patrick Dangerfield.
Triple-premiership midfielder Joel Selwood will lead Geelong for an 11th season, where he is scheduled to surpass Stephen Kernahan's longstanding record of 226 games as captain in round three.
Stewart missed Geelong's finals campaign after suffering a Lisfranc injury and ruptured ligaments in his foot, but he has completed a full pre-season and is ready to go for the start of 2022, where he will continue his partnership with Henry in defence.
