Geelong ruckman Mitch Edwards is set to make his long-awaited AFL debut in the Cats’ clash with Fremantle — the club he was an academy player with — on Saturday.

The Peel Thunder product, who was selected with pick 32 in the 2023 draft, managed just 10 games in the VFL across the past two seasons as he battled constant injury setbacks.

Geelong has also recalled stars Patrick Dangerfield and Jeremy Cameron for their meeting with the Dockers.

Mitch Knevitt and Ollie Henry have been omitted, while new recruit James Worpel will miss while he manages a finger infection.

Edwards impressed throughout the pre-season with a solid performance in the clubs stand alone AAMI Community Series match against Carlton - gathering 11 disposals to go along with 20 hit outs and an impressive seven tackles.

The 20-year-old comes into a Geelong side fresh off a 56-point thumping at the hands of the Gold Coast Suns in Opening Round.

Edwards will be handed a tough task on debut against the Dockers with the trio of Luke Jackson, Sean Darcy and Mason Cox all a chance to feature against the Cats.

However he will be no stranger to Jackson and Darcy having trained at the club throughout 2023 as part of his ties to Fremantle’s Next Generation Academy.

He came agonisingly close to ending up in purple, had he been selected just eight picks later the Dockers would have had the opportunity to match a bid on the Peel product.

Edwards’ star teammate Lawson Humphries had high praise for his Cats teammate when he spoke to The West Australian prior to AFL Origin last month.

“He’s had a really good pre-season, works really hard and he has I think for the first two years been really disappointed with his injuries,” Humphries said.

“I think he’s done everything in his power to get better off the field and worked on whether that’s the mental side of the game and understanding our structures or hitting the gym I feel he has gone as hard as anybody.”

“I’m super excited to see him grow as a player and the confidence he’ll get if he can get an opportunity will be I guess really exciting for the club.”