GEELONG is right where it wants to be heading into next Friday night's preliminary final against Melbourne, with coach Chris Scott confident Optus Stadium will suit his team in its charge for a premiership.
The Cats need to win three straight games at the Perth venue to claim the flag and notched the first of those with a bounceback 35-point win over Greater Western Sydney on Friday night.
A satisfied Scott said the Cats had got back to playing their way after the qualifying final defeat to Port Adelaide and would take on the rested Demons confident in their ability in finals.
"We have great confidence that our best footy is hard to beat, and we were closer to that tonight. It was a little bit of a circuitous route but we're where we want to be," Scott said on Friday night.
"We just needed to concentrate on what we do well, and I thought we got back to that pretty well tonight.
"The ground, for some reason, suits our eye and we have defended it well.
"It was pretty clear to us from late in the season that we were going to play our finals in Perth, so the equation is still the same for us – win three games in Perth. We're excited for the opportunity."
Geelong will take on the minor premiers without midfielder Brandan Parfitt, who suffered a hamstring injury that Scott said was not minor.
If the Cats progress, they could be boosted by the return of defender Tom Stewart, who Scott said was a realistic chance to return for a Grand Final following surgery on a Lisfranc ligament.
"If the medical staff are clear that the risk is very, very low, then we're open to the possibility, but he's not going to play this week," the coach said.
Scott was tight-lipped on the status of superstar midfielder Patrick Dangerfield's hand injury, however, after it emerged last week he had suffered a fracture in the round 23 loss to the Demons.
Dangerfield was effective in the midfield against the Giants but below his lofty standards, finishing with 21 disposals and eight clearances.
The Cats won through to their fifth preliminary final in the past six seasons and their seventh under their 2011 premiership coach, boasting a significant edge in September experience compared to the Demons.
Scott said it was hard to quantify what sort of advantage that gave his team, but the Cats would draw confidence from their ability to consistently progress deep into finals in recent seasons.
"The short-term experience does help a bit, so the last year or two (will be of benefit)," he said.
"I'm not sure that our finals series in 2011 is going to help us much - we've got three players left.
"What's real for us is the team we've become over the last two to three years max, so we're confident we can play well this week but the longer you go in the season the harder it gets."
