Ahead of Friday night’s clash at the MCG, Luke Dahlhaus has declared the Tigers the team to beat this season despite only being sixth on the ladder.

Speaking at a press conference held on Thursday, Dahlhaus spoke in anticipation of the game against Richmond. 

“Friday night at the 'G' as a kid that’s something you really look forward to and we definitely are,” Dahlhaus said. 

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“They have obviously been a pretty good team the last couple years and they get a massive crowd in 100,000 plus members so it’ll be good,” he said. 

The Cats are predicting a big response from the Tigers who Dahlhaus believes have been ‘the best team in the competition’ over the past few years following some stand out seasons including the premiership in 2017. 

“I think their system is great, they are just a great team, they work well together and they are definitely the team to beat.”

“We have the most respect for them down at Geelong,” he said. 

The Cats will be playing at the MCG for the second last time this week ahead of the final series. 

“You want to play well on that ground because that’s where the business stuff sort of happens.”

A feature of Geelong's game this year has been their pressure inside 50 and Dahlahaus believes they will need to bring their A-game to beat Richmond under lights.

“You have to bring that pressure to win games. It is as simple as that."