The Eagles 203cm ruckman, Dean Cox, says the only way to compete against the Cats is to emulate their brand of footy and keep fixated on the game not the finals.
Currently West Coast sits tenth on the ladder, with nine wins and ten losses, which means finals’ footy is still possible if they win all three games.
After the Cats’ clash, Cox says the Eagles won’t have a chance to rest as they prepare to face another tough challenge against Collingwood the following week.
Cox says the Eagles will have to push their football to the next level if they want to dilute the opposition’s pressure, which is exactly what they did with the Bombers last week at the MCG.
“If you don’t bring that brand of football then you’re going to get exposed very quickly against those two teams and I still see Geelong as the benchmark in the competition,” Cox told www.westcoasteagles.com.au
“Their brand of footy is to take the game on; high risk high reward.”
“We’ve watched some vision from last week’s game and we’ve spoken about Geelong so the boys will be ready to go.”
West Coast’s, Sharrod Wellingham, also sees Geelong as one of the benchmarks of the competition.
“I think they’re definitely up there with the benchmark side, along with Hawthorn,” Wellingham told www.westcoasteagles.com.au
“They’re just a relentless side and they don’t give up.”
“I think they’re a side that have a lot of pride. They’re always going to give everything and they’re a very very discipline side and from the outside you can’t help but have a lot of admiration for that group.”
The six-time All-Australian, Cox, says the Eagles cannot afford to lose concentration during Saturday’s clash. Otherwise their chances of getting into the finals will fade very quickly.
Overall the Eagles are ready for an exciting match against the Cats.
“For us it’s just about keeping focused at the job at hand and that’s Geelong this week, as soon as you take your mind off the job that’s when you slip,” Cox said.
“Geelong’s an exciting challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”
Cox would love to see midfielder, Luke Shuey, and his fellow ruckman, Nic Naitanui, back in the side but he’s not holding his breath.
“Luke is obviously trained pretty heavily last week and I presume Luke will be available (this week), and with Nic, it’s just a matter of seeing how he progresses through the program in front of him.”
“You obviously want to get him back playing footy so he can have an impact for the footy side but if that’s going to debilitate him the following week or for the ret of the season then that’s got to be looked at as well.”
“He’s a session by session on case.”
The Cats take on the Eagles on Saturday at 5.40pm local time at Patersons Stadium.
