Geelong coach Chris Scott has confirmed that defender Jack Henry will miss multiple weeks with a hamstring strain after the star was injured against Melbourne last Friday, with youngster Connor O'Sullivan set to pick up the slack.
Henry has emerged as a star in his own right, particularly to begin the 2025 season, averaging three intercept marks, 7.8 intercept possessions and 4.3 spoils.
The injury is a massive blow to Geelong's defensive stocks, whose lack of depth in the backline was evident at stages in 2024 when Tom Stewart and Sam De Koning spent periods of the season in different positions.
The emergence of Rising Star candidate O'Sullivan will ease the pressure of finding a Henry replacement, but Scott admitted the injured defender is a tough loss to take.
"He is going to miss weeks, but it is not a severe one," Scott said.
"It is a challenge for our stocks, I think if you had to choose our best key defender you would probably pick him based on recent form.
"Not many teams can cover that perfectly, but we do feel like we are reasonably well placed, and if nothing else, it has given us a chance to put a bit more responsibility on Connor O'Sullivan's shoulders.
"He has more than responded to that challenge, so that is positive for us."
Another youngster pressing for a debut selection is Oliver Wiltshire, a forward taken at Pick 61 in the 2023 National Draft.
The mature-ager, now 22 years old, has started the 2025 VFL season with form "hard to ignore". Kicking three goals from seven scoring efforts in Round 1, and then garnering 23 disposals to boot with 2.2 in Round 3, Wiltshire is firming for a rapid rise to AFL level. However, Scott believes the plethora of Cats forward talent may leave him stiff to miss out.
"He is becoming very hard to ignore, and I would encourage you to keep asking, but also look through the lens of who is currently in our forward line," Scott said.
"That is not to say that Oli is pigeonholed just as a forward; we think he has the capacity to play up the ground as well. He is doing everything that he can do, I just want to be a little bit cautious of building him up too much.
"I think it is very likely that if he keeps going the way he is, he will get his chance. But putting undue pressure on guys who are still early in their career, it's not fair on them when they actually do come in because they deserve the chance to come in and find their way at AFL level.
"Long term, from what we can see, he has the capacity to be a really good AFL player."
Geelong face Adelaide in the Gather Round opener at Adelaide Oval, a venue where Scott admits the Cats "have good memories".
The Cats dominated Port Adelaide in last year's qualifying final, and have won 12 games from 22 showings, the second-most ever by an interstate team.
Against a Crows side whose only loss this season was by a single point, the Cats' strong record in South Australia will undoubtedly be challenged on Thursday night.
