Arguably the most influential player on the ground despite playing on one leg, Patrick Dangerfield was full of confidence at three quarter time in the Cats’ dramatic win over the Hawks at the MCG.

A collision with Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead forced the Geelong midfielder from the ground in the first term and despite returning to the game, Dangerfield’s movement was inhibited to the point where he could only sit at full forward.

Speaking on AFL Today on Sunday morning, Cats forward Daniel Menzel revealed what the injured no.35 said to his teammates ahead of a do-or-die final term.

“He [Dangerfield] did actually say at three quarter time, ‘boys, let’s get it in deep – we’ve got a really good look deep in the forward line’,” Menzel said.

“Hawky [Tom Hawkins] looked at me and said ‘Danger’s the only one deep in the forward line, so he’s definitely talking about himself there!’”

Dangerfield walked away with 5.6 next to his name as the Cats held on to win by three points. The reigning Brownlow Medallist was dominant inside 50 and if not for inaccuracy, would have claimed with a rare haul.

“He was unreal yesterday,” Menzel said.

“The ball just kept going to him and he just kept marking it. One-on-one he’s so hard to match up on and he’s such a good footballer. He’s such a good contested player as well.”

“It just means it’s that nightmare match up for the opposition. If it weren’t for him kicking inaccurate, he would’ve had 10 yesterday.”

Dangerfield is doubt for the Cats’ first versus second blockbuster against the Crows in Adelaide on Friday night, but Menzel says Geelong has depth to call on.

“Obviously we’d much prefer to have him there. He’s such an important player for us,” Menzel said.

“But at the same time we’ve had a lot of players not play in the last month. Admittedly it would be much tougher without him, but at the same time you back in the players who come in.”

The Cats will travel to Adelaide to take on the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Friday night from 7:50pm AEST.