AFL 2021 finals: All the Geelong injury and selection news
Patrick Dangerfield knows the last time Geelong met Melbourne in a final, it was the Dees who prevailed. Here’s what he says needs to happen to turn the tables.
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Settling early and winning contested ball will be the factors that determine the outcome of Friday night’s preliminary final according to Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield, who has downplayed his side’s clear edge in finals experience.
The Cats have a distinct advantage when it comes to playing in September, but have won just one of their previous four preliminary finals and fell to an inexperienced Demons outfit in a 2018 elimination final.
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Dangerfield, who is Geelong’s leading contested ball winner, said his side’s finals experience won’t count for much if it can’t get on top in that part of the game against a Melbourne side littered with talent across the ground.
“We played Melbourne a few years ago in a final and they beat us and they hadn’t had a huge amount of experience before then so I don’t ever really read into it too much,” Dangerfield said.
“It is important to settle the nerves early and as quickly as you possibly can get the game on your terms. It is always a contested game, finals, and I suspect Friday night is going to be the same.
“But they have got some really good quality players and they have played a terrific brand of footy that has enabled them to finish where they have this season so I don’t really read too much into the level of experience, I more draw on the (immediacy) of performance and theirs has been pretty good, so the challenge is ahead for us.
“We have done plenty of work on Clayton (Oliver) as we have done on Christian (Petracca), as we understand the influence of Max (Gawn), the same as Jake (Lever) and Steven (May), they have got players across every line who are key contributors to the reason they finished on top of the ladder this season.
“We don’t get bogged down on one, but we certainly appreciate what the individuals can do for their team to get them up and rolling. So they are factors we have put our heads together on to make sure we are functioning and, where we can, limiting their capacity.”
The hype around the match has only been heightened off the back of the Round 23 clash between the two sides, when Gawn kicked a goal after the siren to win the game.
Dangerfield said the review of that contest for the Cats as part of their preparation for Melbourne had mostly been focused on what they did right and figuring out how to rectify it on Friday night.
“I suspect all teams are very similar and will always focus on what they do well first and playing the game on their terms, and there was a lot in that game that we did very well,” Dangerfield said.
“So we focus on that and we have learnings from the same game where there are areas we can improve on but that is the same against any opposition and every game we play.
“There is always a balance of positives and negatives to take out of it but I think most teams will focus on what they do well and getting the game on their terms and we are no different to that.”
Scott goes nuclear on top doc over star’s rehab
Geelong coach Chris Scott has hit back at claims his club was ‘delusional’ in its view that All-Australian defender Tom Stewart could play in a grand final if it defeats Melbourne on Friday night.
Stewart underwent Lisfranc surgery on August 16 and began running this week as he eyes off a remarkable recovery in the hope of being part of a premiership side this year.
Highly respected sports medico, Doctor Peter Larkins, told the Geelong Advertiser last month that the procedure would rule Stewart out for the season.
In a tweet last week responding to suggestions the Cats were holding out hope their star backman would be right by September 25, Doctor Larkins said that view was ‘delusional’.
But Scott said Geelong was receiving the best possible advice on how to proceed with Stewart’s recovery and slammed critics who did not have access to the same information as unprofessional.
“We are confident that we have the very best people in Australia certainly, but maybe even the world, who are across this,” Scott said.
“So someone in the medical profession who hasn’t had the opportunity to look at the situation in detail throwing haymakers like that from the cheap seats, I think is highly unprofessional.
“Maybe he (Larkins) doesn’t consider his role in the game now to be one of a medical professional first, maybe he is an entertainer, so I take it in the context of that.”
The focus on the 28-year-old’s rehab will only intensify if Geelong is to advance to a second straight grand final, but Scott said the decision on whether to play him or not will be made in the best interests of Stewart’s health.
“Tom is on a program that was laid out by the very best medical experts and anyone that questions that, especially when they are a level below those expertise, doesn’t really know what they are talking about
“So he is following a plan that was laid out right from the start and he just keeps ticking off those days so that is the process that we are going to work through and if he makes it he makes it and if he doesn’t he doesn’t.
“There is not going to be much room for grey there, it is going to be a really binary decision.”
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Originally published as AFL 2021 finals: All the Geelong injury and selection news
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