Former Geelong defender Harry Taylor believes great players often miss out on finals action, and the Cats must improve collectively instead of banking on an unlikely return from superstar Tom Stewart.
The two-time premiership player retired following the 2020 Grand Final loss to Richmond after playing four seasons alongside Stewart in Geelong’s defence.
He says the current All-Australian can’t be replaced after suffering a lisfranc ligament injury before Round 22, such is his impact on the Geelong team.
“He’s just clearly an amazing player, he’s come to the club with a really determined mindset to get the most out of himself as quickly as he could, he’s certainly overachieved that, he’s been fantastic for our club and his leadership skills are developing all the time,” Taylor told SEN Breakfast.
“The reality is generally in moments like this you can’t replace a player like him, it takes others to step up a bit.”
Stewart would hardly be the first influential player to miss out on a finals series, with Taylor suggesting it’s a similar situation to the one the Cats were in during 2007 when they went on to win the premiership.
“We lost Matthew Egan in 2007 on the eve of the finals with a broken foot, he was an All-Australian that year,” he said.
“There are a lot of stories like that. Brad Sheppard comes to mind, who missed out on West Coast’s flag, Nic Naitanui missed that as well.
“Great players unfortunately do miss out. In Tom’s case there’s still a slight chance he could get back and play should the Cats make the Grand Final, but I think it’s a collective that needs to lift.”
Despite the mammoth task in front of him for an unlikely return, Chris Scott on Wednesday said Stewart is ticking every box to come into Grand Final consideration, should the Cats beat Melbourne in Friday night’s Preliminary Final.