GEELONG coach Chris Scott has stressed the Cats' decision to take Cam Guthrie out of the game after receiving a knock to a shoulder was purely cautionary and he expects the star onballer to be fit for the minor premiers' first final.
Guthrie, who kicked two goals in the first quarter, left the game during the second and failed to reappear.
CATS v EAGLES Full match coverage and stats
"He got a knock on his shoulder – he ran into Paddy Dangerfield, which is not a great idea. They (the medical team) said he was fine, he could go back on, but we just didn't think he needed to. So he was fine," Scott explained.
Guthrie's teammate Jake Kolodjashnij was subbed out of the game at quarter-time with concussion.
"Kolodjashnij has concussion, obviously, so (he was) in the protocol. If there's ever a good time to be concussed, it's when you've got a bye the next week," Scott said.
"Besides that, I think we got through okay."
Sam Menegola was a late withdrawal, with Jonathon Ceglar, who was outstanding, replacing him. Scott said Menegola "was just a little bit sore".
He added that Mitch Duncan, who didn't play, "had a little bit of a hip issue that we were very, very cautious with".
MINOR PREMIERS Cats secure huge win over Eagles
Jeremy Cameron also missed with a hamstring, with Scott saying "all indications are that he'll be fine" (for the first final).
The Cats were ruthless against the lowly Eagles at GMHBA Stadium, piling on 19 goals to run out 85-point winners.
It was their 13th victory on the bounce and 18th of the season, standing them in good stead for an assault on the premiership.
"I don’t think we could have given ourselves a much better chance with the cards we've been dealt," said Scott.
"We're just really excited to be in this position where we can have a crack at it."
It was memorable milestone for Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield, who celebrated his 300th game in style
Dangerfield was one of the Cats' best, finishing with 22 possessions (11 contested), nine score involvements and 11 inside 50s.
"When you see that speed and power it's a really good sign that he’s healthy," Scott said.
"Over the last few years, he's had his challenges with his body and we just haven't quite seen that vintage Dangerfield, and I thought, in his 300th, we saw patches of that tonight. It's really exciting for him and for us."
West Coast coach Adam Simpson was left to lament another poor performance. The Eagles' round 23 loss was their 20th of the season and eighth in a row.
"We played the best team in the competition. We came with a plan to be as competitive as we could be, and I thought at stages we were, but we got overwhelmed with their talent, their fitness, their system," he said.
"Strangely enough, we'll take some positives out of where we're heading.
"We'll lick our wounds; it's been a tough year. We've been playing better footy since the bye and today we just got overwhelmed."
Simpson said Saturday's heavy defeat was hardly surprising and he's looking forward to starting 2023 with a clean slate.
"We're on our path, we don't know how long it will take to get to success," Simpson said.
"Today wasn't a step forward, but we know where we're at, so there's no major surprises today; we know Geelong are a very good side.
"We know we've got a heap of work to do. We need a really good summer, get our key personnel back, reflect on what's been a really difficult year, take some positives out of it and hit the pre-season as hard as we can."