GEELONG has been given a significant boost ahead of Round 1 with young gun Jack Henry declared fit to take on the Bombers.

Last year’s second-placed Carji Greeves medal finisher missed both pre-season hit-outs against Richmond and the Gold Coast but proved his fitness in a VFL practice match last weekend.

The inclusion will help to strengthen the Cats defence that was missing both Tom Stewart and Henry against the Suns on the Gold Coast.

“Jack completed a practice game last week against Newtown and Chillwell,” GM of Football Simon Lloyd says.

“He got through that game fine and trained in our main session on Saturday.

“Jack will be available for selection."

Classy Cat Mitch Duncan is also pushing his case for selection after suffering a minor calf complaint in the back half of the pre-season.

“Mitch is completing main training and is very close to being available for selection,” Lloyd says.

Mark O’Connor, Sam Menegola and Gryan Miers have all returned to main training as the Cats’ overall list health takes a step in the right direction.

Menegola had a delayed start to his pre-season after undergoing a meniscal repair to his knee at the end of October.

“Sam is tracking along well in his return to main training integration,” Lloyd days.

“As I’ve stated previously Sam’s fitness will never be an issue but he’s now involved in main training which is a different type of fitness and he’s progressing well.”

Mark O’Connor has missed both pre-season outing as he deals with a knee tendinopathy while Gryan Miers went under the knife after suffering an syndesmosis injury to his ankle.

“Mark is completing full training and he’s not far away,” Lloyd says.

“Gryan is back into training drills and he’s travelling well post-operatively.”

New ruck recruit Jonathon Ceglar is also making steps in the right direction.

“Jonathon Ceglar is now completing high workloads and he’s building towards match loads,” Lloyd says.

“He’s coming off a knee arthroscope but he’s not far away from return to play.”

High-flying forward and speed machine Gary Rohan is still some time away as he deals with a back issue.

“He’s been working through a neural issue in his hip and back. He’s currently ticking off specific markers,” Lloyd says.

“Really for Gary it will just be a matter of time, hopefully things will increase in the short term in regards to his workloads.”

Both Jed Bews and Sam Simpson are dealing with concussion issues.

Bews was concussed in the club’s AAMI Series encounter with the Suns,  with the mandatory 12-day rehab period taking him right up to the weekend’s season opener.

“Our medical team are continuing to assess and both players are continuing through the return to play concussion protocols,” Lloyd says.

“As always we’ll be guided by our medical team and our chief medical officer on return to play.”

Draftees Toby Conway, James Willis and Flynn Kroeger all have work to do before they take the field in Cats colours.

“Toby Conway had a slight hip issue. He’s now running high kilometres,” Lloyd says.

“With our younger players we’re always focusing on the long-term plan and he needs to be bullet proof.

“James Willis had a knee arthroscopy at the beginning of last month after coming to the club with some knee issues.

“He’s working through a strength phase and doing a lot of off-feet conditioning.

“Flynn Kroeger had a hip issue and is looking to build his running volume and developing long-term hip strength.”