The VFL Cats have been given a boost at the selection table with both Billie Smedts and Shane Kersten set to return from long-term injuries.
It will be the first time Cats fans have seen Kersten in action this year after recovering from off season knee surgery, while Smedts has not been sighted since coming off the ground injured in the NAB Challenge match against North Melbourne at Simonds Stadium on the 7th of March.
It was originally thought the fleet footed utility would miss 3-4 weeks with bone bruising, but has ended up missing more than two months after a small crack was discovered in his leg.
They have been joined on the list of incoming players by AFL omission Taylor Hunt and first year midfielder Jarrad Jansen, who last week travelled to Perth as an AFL emergency.
St Joseph’s hard nut Tom Atkins has once again been selected as the 23rd player after another impressive performance in the Cats 25 point loss to Williamstown last weekend.
St Joseph’s key position player Cameron Tudor, St Mary’s utility Zak Sherman, Newtown winger Dane McFarlane and Bell Park midfielder Chris Lynch have also been included in the extended squad.
It is not all-good news for the Cats at the selection with both Jordan Schroder (calf) and George Burbury (groin) unable to come up for the all-important clash.
The key pair will be joined on the sidelines by VFL regulars James Linton and Luke Bath who will both miss with general soreness.
Collingwood have named one of their strongest line-ups this season with a host of well-known AFL listed players returning from injury in recent weeks. With an impressive mixture of both AFL and VFL listed talent, the VFL Pies are firming as one of the favorites for the 2014 VFL premiership. 17 AFL listed players including Ben Sinclair, Paul Seedsman, Josh Thomas, Sam Dwyer, Ben Kennedy, Taylor Adams, Lachlan Keefe, Tim Broomhead, Martin Clarke, Patrick Karnezis, Tony Armstrong and veteran ruckman Ben Hudson have been named in the 27-man squad.
With the Collingwood AFL side playing at the MCG later in the day, a huge crowd is anticipated to flock to the ‘dual venue curtain raiser’ that will start at the special time of 12.00pm with FREE entry for all spectators.
For all Cats fans that cannot get to Victoria Park on Saturday, the big clash will be tweeted live, so follow @GeelongVFL on Twitter for all the action including live scores, stats updates and photos.
Bendigo Bank Cats – Round 8 Selected Side
B: Joel Hamling, Jake Kolodjashnij, James Toohey
HB: Taylor Hunt, Matthew Sully, Jackson Thurlow
C: Billie Smedts, Dominic Gleeson (c), Nick Bourke
HF: Darcy Lang, Joshua Walker, Brad Hartman
F: Shane Kersten, Mitch Brown, Michael Luxford
R: Andrew Banjanin, Mitch Herbison, Jarrad Jansen
I/C: Jack Hollmer, Tom Maas, Cameron Tudor, Daniel Gibbs, Daniel Measures, Dane McFarlane, Chris Lynch, Zak Sherman, Tom Atkins (23rd Player)
