It feels like a long time ago now but it was only in Round 14 that West Coast ran Geelong to 18 points after being tied up at halftime over in Perth, so the Eagles will take some confidence out of that performance, and they’ll be particularly keen to be more than pre-finals tune-up for the Cats this weekend at GMHBA Stadium.
Historically, the teams have almost split their games down the middle, with the Cats winning 28 of the 56 clashes, including one draw, although Geelong has won four of the last five meetings.
A couple of things to keep an eye on this weekend:
Forward Match Ups
It’ll be the first time this season that Tom Hawkins won’t have Jeremy Cameron alongside him, so it’ll be interesting to see which of the forwards fill the breach. Tyson Stengle can be counted on each week to kick a couple so it could be Patrick Dangerfield floats forward to fill the gap, or Gary Rohan might bob up and hit the scoreboard himself.
Either way, the Cats will come up against two of the in-form defenders of the competition in Shannon Hurn and Tom Barrass who had 28 disposals and nine-rebound 50s and 20 disposals and 12 marks respectively last week, with Barrass especially impactful, grabbing 14 intercept possessions and holding Fremantle’s Rory Lobb to 0.1 from seven disposals.
Danger 300
There’s been more than a few milestones to celebrate this year down at the Cattery, and on Saturday it’ll be Patrick Dangerfield’s day after 154 games with the Adelaide Crows, and the rest with Geelong.
As Geelong premiership captain Cameron Ling told the To The Final Bell podcast this week, it’s a particularly special achievement when you consider the way Dangerfield plays. Like Joel Selwood, history says that players that play with the level of physicality that Dangerfield does don’t often get 300 out of their bodies, let alone 299 of the quality we’ve seen from Moggs Creeks’ finest export.
An incredible career so far with plenty more to come.
Air Sava Cleared For Landing
With Rhys Stanley down with injury Esava Ratugolea will make his first appearance in the senior side since the Round 3 win over Collingwood. A combination of ankle and shoulder surgeries have kept the high flying Fijian grounded at different points of the season, but after some strong recent showings in the VFL, the big man gets his chance to grab a spot in the Geelong’s Qualifying Final side.
With Stanley out, he’ll likely share ruck duties with Mark Blicavs but it’s worth noting that he’s been making an impression down back in the State League collecting 17 possessions and taking eight marks in last weekend’s loss to Box Hill.
Member Thank You Round
The Cats have once again managed to break the all-time membership record which is an incredible tribute to the club’s supporters who continue to remain loyal and that dedication will be recognised this weekend at GMHBA Stadium.
Patrick Dangerfield captured the club’s feelings in a press conference this week:
“Year on year we've been able to break records and 70,758 is a testament to the incredible support we've had. The last couple of years haven't been ideal for anyone yet our supporters continue to turn up, sign up and they make such a huge contribution.
“From a club perspective, we can't thank them enough for what they've enabled us to do as an organisation.
“There have been games this year when it's been tight and we've needed that spur on and they've provided it. They're the bedrock of our organisation and they’re the part that makes it so special running out as a player.”
