Cats breathe easy after Shannon avoids big injury

Neale was in pain after clashing knees with Carlton ruckman Marc Pittonet at a centre circle ruck contest in the third quarter of Geelong's 13.8 (86) to 11.5 (71) defeat at Princes Park on Wednesday night.

It sparked fears the forward-ruck may have suffered a PCL injury as he hobbled to the rooms.

But Geelong later said Neale had suffered a knock to the shin, and he emerged with ice just below his right knee.

"He just got a bit of a knock on his shin," said Cats assistant James Kelly.

"So he's a bit unlucky, there's probably about 10cm that isn't covered by the shin guard and just got a knock above that. 

"He's a really important player for us so we just took him off. He's obviously a bit sore but just a knock on the shin."

The incident happened days after Melbourne captain Max Gawn expressed concerns to AAP about how the new ruck rules, which encourage jumping over wrestling, could lead to more PCL injuries.

When asked if there were concerns about Neale's knee, Kelly said: "No, not at this stage, no. Just a knock, it (the shin) blew up a little bit.

"We expect him to be fine (for opening round) ... we all as a collective exhaled when we heard it was just his shin."

Geelong were without Cameron (quad), Bailey Smith (calf) and Gryan Miers (thumb) while skipper Patrick Dangerfield only played the second half.

Youngster Jagga Smith headlined a promising new-look Carlton, who dominated early proceedings and withstood a Geelong challenge before kicking away.

Classy midfielder Smith, the 2024 No.3 pick who missed the 2025 season with an ACL tear, racked up a game-high 37 disposals and kicked a goal.

"Pleased for Jagga," backline coach Ash Hansen said.

"We know his skillset is gonna make us a better team but for such a young man to have to navigate the disappointment of last year and wait for another opportunity is testament to the young person he is.

"... He's the link player between the midfield and forward line which a lot of teams in today's footy just value so highly because defence is so good."

Carlton, after an off-season where Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni departed and their coaching staff under Michael Voss was overhauled, fielded nine players yet to play an AFL game for the club.

Newly re-signed star Sam Walsh (29) and Patrick Cripps (29) were prolific.

Pre-season signing Wade Derksen impressed down back and Elijah Hollands, handed a career lifeline after his delisting, kicked two goals.

Key back Jacob Weitering (ribs) told Fox Footy he hopes to be fit for a blockbuster clash with Curnow in next Thursday's opening round clash with Sydney.

Geelong's Tanner Bruhn was prolific off half-back in his first appearance of the pre-season.

The 23-year-old missed last season as he was stood down by the AFL due to rape and intentional sexual touching charges that were dropped in November.

Bruhn, Max Holmes (25 disposals, one goal) and Lawson Humphries (24) were strong throughout.