GEELONG coach Chris Scott says it is "impossible" to replace star defender Tom Stewart like for like, but the Cats' ability to build flexibility into their squad had given them the levers needed to cover him in Saturday's Grand Final. 

Stewart is the heartbreak story of the 2025 decider after being ruled out because of concussion, with the premiership defender likely to be replaced in defence by versatile big man Mark Blicavs. 

Scott said the return of ruck Rhys Stanley would balance out the loss of Stewart somewhat, but the five-time All-Australian would be missed as the Cats return for their first Grand Final appearance since the 2022 flag. 

"I've never subscribed to the theory when one of your best players goes out that it's just the next man up. They're impossible to replace like for like," Scott said on Friday in the traditional coaches and captains' media conference. 

"We think about it a little bit differently. It's not to say that we don't think we have other options, we do, but that's a challenge. 

"Then the ruck one, we just see that as a positive. We've probably built our team over the last four or five years with a view to having some flexibility and different levers to pull. 

"So Tom's a net negative in that respect, but Rhys is the positive that goes some way to evening up the ledger."

Stewart was missing for the Cats' round three clash with Brisbane this season after being withdrawn late with a knee injury, with the Lions going on to win by nine points at the Gabba as Sam De Koning and Blicavs shared ruck duties. 

Scott said it was always the Cats' preference this finals series to have Stanley available in the ruck as he prepares to go head-to-head with big men Darcy Fort and Oscar McInerney.  

"We earmarked going into the first final that our strong preference was to have Rhys available, so that's a good news story," Scott said.

"It's a little bit of a juggle, but one we think we’re pretty well prepared for. 

"We've had some good performances without him (Stewart) over the few years, which in some ways speaks a little bit to our improvement as a team and as a squad really. 

"There was a time where if you said to me we didn't have Stewart or we didn't have (Patrick) Dangerfield, we would have been in big trouble. But it just doesn't feel that way now."

Scott reflected on the Cats' path back to a Grand Final and their ability to regenerate on the run with youth, mature-age draftees and trade acquisitions, saying the club had done things its own way. 

He said the two Grand Final teams had managed to remain contenders in different ways, with the Lions drawing on eight players aged 22 or under to support their more experienced premiership stars. 

"The key part is we've never fallen in love with ourselves and we've never thought that we were better than any other club," Scott said.

"We just have come up with a system that we think works for us and may be difficult to replicate because we have a slightly different set of circumstances. 

"We've got great admiration and respect for what Brisbane have done, but we're both here via different paths and we respect their path and what they've done."

Dangerfield shapes as a pivotal player on Saturday after producing an epic preliminary final performance, with Brisbane midfielder Josh Dunkley looming as a likely opponent at stoppages. 

The Brownlow medallist, who compared his own grey hairs with Lions' coach Chris Fagan's in a cheeky exchange, said he had not spent too much time this week worrying about potential match-ups.   

"I don’t know. I don’t spend a stack of time looking at vision during the week to be totally honest. Some of our guys do. He (Dunkley) is obviously a wonderful player in his own right, just forget the negating part of his game," Dangerfield said.

"We’ve got to be mindful of that. We’ve had plenty of meetings this week around how we think they set up, but most of it has been about what we do.

"So much of it is once the game starts to play out, how you react. We’ll just have to see how the first few minutes roll out.

"I don’t think 'Fages' is going to give the game away right now, but that’s the beauty of footy and the beauty of both teams who have been really successful throughout the year."