Geelong coach Chris Scott says he is confident key defender Sam De Koning has avoided a serious knee injury in the nailbiting five-point win against Adelaide.
Late in the third term, De Koning was helped from the ground after clutching at his right knee without any contact.
It was an innocuous incident but Scott believes this is something the 23-year-old has been dealing with in recent weeks and could've returned to the field.
"He could've easily played on."
It's good news for Sam De Koning, reports @cleary_mitch. pic.twitter.com/rWVmS5tyCv
— 7AFL (@7AFL) August 3, 2024
"They tell me not to be concerned - they being our medical staff," Scott said.
"It's more a patella issue, rather than anything deeply structural within the knee."
Scott also heaped praise on All-Australian forward Tyson Stengle, whose been followed to within an inch of his life this week.
And despite the 25-year-old seemingly in doubt to face the Crows, Scott said his response to the scrutiny was"super", playing a vital part in the club's 13th victory of the season.
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"I just thought he was super," Scott said.
"One, it's just great news that physically, he's in good shape, and his health and wellbeing is solid and our medical staff were very confident of that early in the piece. So that makes you breathe a bit of a sigh of relief.
"But there's some mental pressure that comes with it as well. And people talk about building resilience - sometimes in those moments, it would be forgivable to crumble a little bit. And he did the opposite.
"He looked like he was the one in our team looking to take the moment as much as anything.
"I thought he was super in the game, and the way he handled the whole week, I thought was a credit to him as well."
Scott continued to go in to bat for Stengle despite calls he should've missed Round 21, saying he was always going to wrap his arms around him.
"What I will say is he is a monumental success story, that kid, if you know anything about what he's had to overcome," Scott added.
"Yeah, we'll all be critical of people, making errors here and there. But with Tyson, you'll come away and go 'we should be proud of him'.
"Once we bring them (players) in, we've got their back. That's our responsibility.
"The easiest thing in the world is to take the moral high ground, turf them out."
The Cats now sit third on the ladder and one game behind Sydney, and will face Fremantle at Optus Stadium next week.
