In news that will warm the hearts of Geelong fans everywhere, Jake Kolodjashnij will make his return to the Cats' AFL team on Sunday afternoon. 

A beloved member of the Geelong Football Club and widely respected by teammates, coaches and fans, the premiership defender has not featured at AFL level since the 2024 Preliminary Final against Brisbane. 

That marks a 568-day break between AFL games. 

Geelong coach Chris Scott explained the patient build up with Kolodjashnij in his most recent press conferences, touching on how exciting it is to have the experienced Cat back. 

"It is that temptation of rushing the last little bit and potentially making a mistake. I doubt it, because his preparation has been so good over the last few months," Scott told media. 

"We felt like if we were to make a mistake, the one we could live with was taking a bit too long to get him back. 

"But again, I think it is unlikely that we will just drop him straight back in and he just plays every week from here.

"We have got the macro plan, which is obviously subject to change based on circumstance. We have been careful with him, we are optimistic that he is through the physical issues that he has had.

"There just has to be enough flex in there that if he does get a bit sore, that we don't keep pushing him through."

It was a long road back to the top level for Kolodjashnij, after an injury-riddled 2025 season saw him miss nearly the entire campaign. 

A delayed start to the season meant that he made his first appearance of the year at VFL level in Round 5, before missing more than three months through another injury setback. 

Kolodjashnij would return late in 2025 and played the last two games of the VFL season, kicking a goal in Round 20 against Essendon to delight the Cats faithful in his comeback match. 

Looking for greater consistency this year, the veteran defender made a bright start to the 2026 campaign collecting 16 disposals and 10 marks against the Bombers in Round 1, before following that up with 21 disposals and eight marks against Box Hill in Round 2. 

After being a carry over emergency for Easter Monday, Kolodjashnij's hard work has paid off with selection in Geelong's AFL team for Sunday's Gather Round clash with West Coast. 

It is set to be the 199th career AFL game for Kolodjashnij, on the verge of becoming the 44th Geelong player in V/AFL history to reach 200 games in the blue and white Hoops.