After a disappointing performance in Adelaide against the ladder-leading Crows last week, the Cats will be out to consolidate second position as they face Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Cats Media has identified four angles to follow throughout the match:

Cracking the ton 

As a batsmen walks out to the crease, he or she is dreaming of a century.

It’s those famous tons that stick in your mind – Steve Waugh’s career-saving 102 Ashes century at the SCG in 2003; Michael Clarke’s 329 not out against India in 2012 at the SCG; Adam Gilchrist’s swashbuckling 100 runs from just 57 balls in Perth; Ricky Ponting’s double-ton of 257 facing India at the MCG in 2003. 

Unfortunately for senior coach Brendan Bolton, the Blues just can’t navigate their way through the 70’s before hauling out and heading back to the sheds.

The reality is Carlton has not cracked the 100-point mark in any game this season. The Blues average the fewest points per game in the AFL at 73.1 and sit 16.9 points behind the league average of 90.

While their scoring power is limited and their average winning margin is just 13 points, the Blues have kept their average losing margin to a respectable 29 points, meaning Carlton is rarely blown out of the water and rarely out of the contest.

It’s something to be mindful of on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, for if the Cats don’t make light work of their opposition early, the Blues will like their chances come the final term – even if they don’t raise the bat for that elusive ton.

Happy hunting ground

It may be a Carlton home game, but the Cats love Etihad Stadium. And they love facing the Blues there.

Of the 94 games played at Etihad in Geelong’s history, the Cats have won 63, lost 30 and drawn one for a winning percentage of 67.5 per cent. With wins against North Melbourne, Melbourne and St Kilda already, the Cats are yet to lose at Etihad this season.

But it’s their record against Carlton there that is telling: winning 14 of 15 games played under the roof.

Conversely, the Blues have lost three of their past four matches at the ground and sit 46-79 all time for a 36.8 per cent winning percentage.

As the Cats continue to campaign for all 11 home games to be played Simonds Stadium, Etihad is at least a happy home away from home in the interim – and especially against Carlton.

Hawk and Harry

Tom Hawkins started the season in a blaze of glory, booting 28 goals across his first eight matches.

He has kicked 11 goals since – four of which were against the cellar-dwelling Brisbane Lions. 

That’s a lean eight-game run for the Cats’ spearhead and many are attributing his fall in production to the loss of unlikely partner in crime Harry Taylor – who himself has been in the spotlight all season long, ironically enough, due to that early-season foray forward.

There’s no question Taylor has spent considerably more time in defence in the latter half of the year, hence it’s no surprise some now ponder the direct correlation between Hawkins’ form slump and Harry’s move back.

"If you look at the numbers across the season, one could mount an argument to say that Tom's played better when Harry's been there, so there's some logic to that," senior coach Chris Scott admitted this week.

"But we're pretty confident that Tom can play pretty well as even the only key forward.” 

The weekly question was always ‘will Harry play forward or back?’

Now its ‘does Hawk need Harry?’

It may have once seemed an unlikely pairing, but Tom Hawkins and Harry Taylor have proven themselves up forward. (Photo: AFL Photos)

Here’s what you’re missing 

Zach Tuohy has been nothing short of a revelation for the Cats in 2017. 

Faced with a Corey Enright-sized hole in defence, Stephen Wells and his list management team identified Tuohy as a player who could, in some small part, fill the void left behind by arguably the greatest half back of the modern era. A deal was done and the Irishman made his way to Simonds Stadium.

Averaging 25.2 disposals, ranked 7^th league-wide for rebound 50s and 5^th for metres gained – and able to not only free-wheel from defence as one of the Cats’ most creative ball users but lock-down on the opposition’s most dangerous small forwards, Tuohy has elevated himself to All-Australian form in 2017.

None of this is surprising however, given the 27-year-old had always possessed flair as a reliable defender for each of his previous six seasons with Carlton. But it’s the conjecture around his departure from IKON Park and the contract offer that was allegedly put to him by the Blues that goes some of the way to explaining why a player of Tuohy’s calibre was even available in last season’s trade period. 

Now, in the form of his life, and regarded as one of the Cats’ most important players, the Irishman may just have a point to prove against his old side on Saturday night.

Zach Tuohy is in All-Australian form having made the move from Carlton to Geelong in the off-season. (Photo: AFL Photos)