The home and away season is heading towards a riveting conclusion, with every spot in the top eight still up for grabs with just three weeks remaining.  

Geelong head to Perth this weekend for a clash with Fremantle at Optus Stadium, with Saturday’s game set to be a classic ‘eight-pointer’ between the fifth and sixth placed teams.  

The Cats will be looking to continue their momentum after winning five of their last six games, following a thrilling win against Adelaide last week.  

Fremantle will be looking to bounce back after a nail-biting loss to Essendon last Sunday, but the Dockers have three games remaining against top eight teams.   

Ladder   

Geelong: 5th (13-7)  
  
Fremantle: 6th (12-7-1) 

Points For  

Geelong – 1834 
  
Fremantle - 1743 

Points Against  

Geelong – 1684 
  
Fremantle - 1494 

The Battle of the Young Guns - Holmes v Serong  

Max Holmes has been a breakout star for the Cats this year, averaging over 24 disposals per game while also booting 12 goals for the season.  

The Geelong young gun has spent more time in the midfield recently, averaging five clearances per game across the past three weeks.  

Caleb Serong has also been a dominant force for Fremantle in 2024, averaging over 30 disposals and eight clearances per game.  

It poses as an enticing matchup if the two emerging talents line up against one another on Saturday.  

Restricting the Dockers Handball Heavy Style 

Fremantle tend to prefer a handball heavy approach to games, looking to slice their way through the corridor with slick hands rather than going by foot.  

The Dockers have the second most total handballs in 2024, led by Serong and Andrew Brayshaw who both sit in the top six across the competition in this statistic. 

As a team, Fremantle have only been out-handballed in five of their 20 games this season, something the Cats will need to limit this weekend. 

Applying Forward Half Pressure 

Something Essendon were able to do well last week when they defeated Fremantle was apply forward half pressure, laying 18 tackles inside 50 which was more than double the Dockers total.  

Fremantle have a number of defenders who are elite by foot, including Jordan Clark and Luke Ryan who set up plenty of attacking forays when they are afforded time and space.  

Fortunately this is an area the Cats excel in with the likes of Brad Close, Shaun Mannagh and Tyson Stengle always applying plenty of pressure, which is something they will need to do again on Saturday.