Cats TV spoke to young gun George Horlin-Smith and AFL journalist Scott Gullan about the most talked about forward line in the competition and where the Cats can win the match.
“I think it’ll be won in the midfield,” Horlin-Smith said.
“A couple of weeks ago we were really poor around the ball against Fremantle, so to win the game I think we’re going to need to be really tough in the contests,” Horlin-Smith said.
Gullan agreed that the crucial battle will take place in the midfield.
“I think George is right, you look at the Swans forward line and think you’ve got to focus on that, but Geelong matches up well, given Harry Taylor and ‘Domsy’ Lonergan,” Gullan said.
The Swans will be without ruckman Mike Pyke for another week, as he failed to overcome a hamstring strain, leaving former Tiger Tom Derickx to carry the ruck load.
Derickx had played just two games in three seasons at Richmond before joining the Swans this year.
“Where Geelong could have an advantage is (the ruck contest),” Gullan said.
“Tom Derickx is an ex-Richmond duty man, he’s basically the ruckman because Pyke’s out, (although) Tippett goes in there a little bit.
“Hamish McIntosh is in great form, Dawson Simpson’s a competitor, I see that (as a) little advantage,” Gullan said.
The Cats have had outstanding success against the Swans in recent times, winning 12 of their last 14 games.
“The midfields match up because they’re all big bodied, both teams are very hard.
“If they can get in there early, with Steve Johnson back, they play the ground well, I think (in the midfield) is where they win,” Gullan said.
The Cats performance in and around the contested ball last Friday night against North Melbourne was a huge improvement on recent weeks, an area that wasn’t up to scratch against Fremantle in Round 9. But Horlin-Smith was adamant this was not due to a lack of intent in Western Australia.
“It’s not just a mentality,” Horlin-Smith said.
Against North Melbourne, the Cats had 146 contested possessions as opposed to just 119 against Fremantle the week before.
“I think there are a number of things that go into it, one being the opposition. This weekend we really need to make sure we’re on in there and that we’re clean and that we’re hard around the contest,” Horlin-Smith said.
To hear more from George Horlin-Smith and Scott Gullan, click on the video above.
