Cats coach Chris Scott says Bailey Smith’s absence from this match was an easy call as he wasn’t healthy enough to get on the flight to Perth.
The third-placed Cats will face the first-placed Dockers tonight without star midfielder Smith and veteran defender Tom Stewart, who is out due to concussion.
“I’m not sure how he is feeling [right now]. He’s been ill, so he wasn’t good enough to get on the plane yesterday [Wednesday], so that made our decision easier,” Scott told Kayo Sports.
“We are talking about this more and more. Maybe 20 years you would just play if you felt sick but now we have no appetite to play guys who are less than what I would consider good enough to play.
“It will be a good test to play without Bailey and Tom [Stewart] against the best team in the comp right now but we will be up for the fight.”
