Calls to move AFL’s pre-finals bye after Geelong star Tom Stewart suffers concussion and will miss grand final

There are a chorus of calls to move the AFL’s pre-finals bye to the weekend before the grand final to allow a player — who is concussed in a preliminary final — time enough to recover.

In fact, it seems that is destined to happen after Geelong lost star defender Tom Stewart to concussion on their way to an impressive 17.13 (115) to 13.7 (85) win over Hawthorn in Friday night’s blockbuster preliminary final at the MCG.

Stewart was crunched in a tackle and had to be subbed out before quarter-time .... and now will be a bystander on Saturday, unavailable under concussion protocols, when the Cats take their place in the decider.

Coach Chris Scott it was “shattering” for his five-time All-Australian and it was time for change.

“I think generally in these situations you change your mind depending on what it means for you,” Scott said after the game.

“So I’m very pro a week off before the grand final ... if we can sneak that in this year.

“But given that it’s likely we’re not going to do that ... I mean, in some ways, in a perverse way, it’s black and white ... so we know (he’s not playing), he knows.

“Yeah, it’s a shattering situation for him.”

Geelong captain and veteran superstar Patrick Dangerfield said he was devastated for his great friend and teammate.

“He’s one of my great friends. It’s not just the playing part for me, it’s the person he is,” Dangerfield said.

“He’s been such an enormous part of the success we’ve been able to have as a club over a long period.

“So it’s a really difficult one to digest for us - I’m enormously proud of our guys and the way they were able to cover such an enormous loss that is him.

“But the game was just half-an-hour ago - I’m not too sure what to think.”

AFL’s new football boss Greg Swann has already hinted that a change to the pre-finals bye is coming for this exact reason.

“It’s more to do with somebody getting concussed (in the preliminary final) and not being able to play (in the grand final),” Swann told the AFL Record only this month.

“That’s why we think that bye would be better off before the grand final.”

When the incident happen, Seven’s gun sports reporter Xander McGuire said: “It is probably the most consequential on-field moment of the season.

“This is the AFL’s nightmare scenario since they introduced the 12-day concussion protocol, arguably the best player in a team will not be able to play in the grand final after being concussed in the preliminary final.”

Richmond great Matthew Richardson said: “I don’t know anyone who thinks the pre-final bye is a good idea.

“A lot of people have suggested this (could happen) for a number of years now, and now we’ve got this situation.”

There is also concern around another Geelong defender, Jack Henry, who played through pain against the Hawks after teammate Connor O’Sullivan landed on his left ankle.

Stewart’s concussion might mean versatile teammate Mark Blicavs is sent to the backline in the grand final and could also open door for ruckman Rhys Stanley to return after overcoming his hamstring injury.

“I said a couple of weeks ago that if Rhys was fit we’d play him. There’s obviously some nuance there,” Scott said.

“The way we think about it now is ‘could play’ is not enough. You have to answer the ‘should play’ question.

“But the fact that he’s gone so well at training leaves him in really good shape for next week.

“So that’s probably a little bit of a pointer to the way I’m thinking, and I’m one of a selection group.”

Despite all of that, Scott believes Geelong are better placed to attack an AFL grand final than at any stage during his coaching tenure.

Geelong have qualified for their third grand final in six seasons and the fourth of Scott’s 15-year reign at Kardinia Park.

The 49-year-old led Geelong to flags in 2011 and 2022, as well as the losing 2020 decider, but feels this year’s team is in better shape heading to the game’s biggest stage.

“Yeah, I think that’s right. I find it a little bit hard to compare previous eras but we do shift things regularly in-season,” Scott said.

“We’re big believers that the game changes and we want to change either with it or hopefully a little bit in front of it.

“But we’ve been pretty stable for a long time and in part that’s because we’ve brought some young players in ... and those guys became mainstays early on in our season.

“It helps you have stability and everyone, even in business, preaches stability. But there’s no point keeping going with the same thing if it’s not working.

“We just feel like it’s been working for a decent period of time now, so that gives us confidence that we’re going to be in pretty good shape to give it a real shake next week.”

Dejected Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was in no mood to discuss big-picture issues like the finals bye after his side’s season-ending defeat.

“You can ask me another day. I don’t care right now,” Mitchell said.

“My mental capacities are dealing with what I’m dealing with right now. I don’t give a shit, sorry.”

- With AAP