PATRICK Dangerfield says it's business as usual down at Kardinia Park, despite the continued absence of senior coach Chris Scott over pre-season.

The veteran coach – who is entering his 16th year in charge at Geelong – remains on extended leave from the club as he juggles the long-term demands of the taxing role.

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Scott has been away from the Cats since Christmas and will lead Victoria against Western Australia in the AAMI AFL Origin clash in Perth on February 14.

"He probably needs to take greater notice of our pre-seasons, he's not there (normally) a huge amount anyway," Dangerfield said with a grin.

"To be honest, it's been sort of status quo for us. As players, we don't really need to see Chris pre-Christmas. And the way the season's structured, once the season finishes for us, we go away, but the staff – and particularly for list management, Chris and some of the coaches – their season doesn't finish until late October, early November.

"We'll make slight adjustments with the way we train and the way we're going to play, but it's not like Chris isn't [across] those things anyway. He just doesn't need to be there for the daily grind that pre-season can provide at times. He, like us, wants to be at our best when it matters most. I think this is probably the way clubs will go in the future, given the demand put on coaches, [and] particularly the senior coach.

"It's been normal, to be honest, as to how a pre-season normally runs for us, Chris doesn't do much of that throughout our pre-season previously. Even last year, was pretty similar to this. That spread between James Kelly, James Rahilly and obviously 'Bucks' (Nathan Buckley) who's come in, who we're really excited to have on board."

Dangerfield is thrilled to be working with the Collingwood legend, who has signed a one-year deal as an assistant coach, calling it a "fan boy" moment to be working alongside his childhood favourite.

"For a lot of our players who are drafted now or in their early 20s, I don't think they appreciate how incredible he was as a player, they see him as the ex-Collingwood coach. He's been a great addition to the team. I really enjoy his outlook on the game," Dangerfield said.

"By and large, we're fleshing out the way we play or little changes all the time – it's never just the coach saying 'this is what we're doing', and there's no collaboration. The pre-season is about trying new things, then engaging the senior players around what's working and any minor adjustments."

Dangerfield said small forward Tyson Stengle was unlikely to feature in Geelong's Opening Round game against Gold Coast on March 6, having taken an extended break from the club for personal reasons.

"I wouldn't have thought it's realistic. We want to be mindful that we want Tyson playing his best footy as quickly as possible, but in the most important parts of the season. You have to win games early enough to put yourself in a position to compete, but we're mindful of where he's at and the personal challenges he's had," Dangerfield said.

"We've been really supportive of that. Tying into that line of thinking, we'll make a really considered approach to when he's ready to get back into fully playing games. He's doing full training at the moment, but we'll just make sure that progression is slow, consistent and sustainable, once he's up and running."

Midfielder Tanner Bruhn will make a return to football this year, having been stood down by the AFL for the 2025 season after he was charged with sexual assault. The charges were withdrawn in November, allowing Bruhn to return to the football program.

"It's been fantastic, we're so thrilled as players to have him back, to see him happy, to see him smiling," Dangerfield said.

"It's been a really challenging 12 months for obvious reasons for Tanner and the club, but I'm really proud of the way he's gone about it and the way he's put it behind him. You can't control that element, all he can control is the way he trains and his teammates love having him back."

Dangerfield was speaking at a press conference to announce an extension of the AFL’s partnership with Virgin Australia as the official airline of the AFL and AFLW to 2030.