CHRIS Scott remains coy on Tom Stewart's availability, but the Geelong coach has declared wounded Cats star Jeremy Cameron a certain starter for their blockbuster battle against Fremantle.
Scott revealed Cameron, who is still dealing with the effects of a broken arm suffered in last year's Grand Final loss, has also been hampered by a hip issue.
The 33-year-old has still battled through the pain to kick 37 goals to be second in the Coleman Medal race, only behind Gold Coast spearhead Ben King.
"He's had a little bit of hip irritation so he gets some treatment on that," Scott told reporters on Tuesday.
"We wouldn’t try to hide it if it was serious.
"It's something that he's managing a bit, but his movement is still pretty good.
"There's been some commentary around his arm as well ... from talking to him mainly and our medical staff, it comes and goes a little bit, but he's very confident that's not an issue for him.
"He's been a little bit limited ... we tend to be very conservative with these things. If we thought that him playing through this was going to potentially lead to bad outcomes, in the medium term, we wouldn't be playing him."
But mystery still surrounds Stewart, the five-time All-Australian defender placed in concussion protocols after the Cats' loss to Adelaide in round 13.
Stewart suffered a head knock in the dying stages of the contest, but Geelong refuses to say when the 33-year-old entered protocols.
If a concussion was detected on the night, then Stewart would be out of the mandatory 12-day protocols in time to face the Dockers at Optus Stadium on Thursday night.
Fremantle is on a club-record 12-game winning streak, their last loss coming against the Cats in round one when their 35-point lead was reeled in at GMHBA Stadium.
Scott said Geelong would take a bigger than normal squad to Perth for the game.
"When we name a team and especially on short breaks and we have some doubt over those players, rather than make a call 48 hours beforehand, if there is any chance that they play then we tend to name them," he said.
"Then we give them right up until the last minute to prove their fitness.
"When you have the added complication of having to jump on a plane the odds are that we tend to take those guys if we think they are a chance to play."
