Patrick Dangerfield is the AFL’s best midfielder and best forward, so how does Geelong best use him?

PATRICK Dangerfield is the AFL’s best midfielder and best forward and Geelong coach Chris Scott has a delicate balancing act on Friday night, writes David King.

Patrick Dangerfield has a shot at goal during the year.

PATRICK Dangerfield is the AFL’s best midfielder and the AFL’s best forward.

If Dangerfield played inside the forward 50m for the complete season, by the numbers he would have won the Coleman Medal. Some will say there would have been more time for the opposition to study and plan for this extreme match-up dilemma, but who is more equipped than Sydney’s All-Australian Dane Rampe? No one.

Danger must play at full-forward for the bulk of whatever games Geelong has left in season 2017. What he has done during his 625 minutes as a forward this season is incredible. Extrapolate the data to compare to the competition’s best goalkickers and the returns are frightening.

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I cannot recall another player with such dominance as both a midfielder and a genuine forward.

It’s not a matter of whether Dangerfield can perform as a forward. It’s more about the flow-on effect on the Geelong midfield.

More than any other coach, Chris Scott denies what the opposition wants. He often tags multiple players when other coaches decline a solitary tagging role.

Dane Rampe tries to stop Patrick Dangerfield during last week’s semi-final.

When Dangerfield is forward against the Crows at Adelaide Oval, the Cats must negate Matt Crouch and Rory Sloane via Mark Blicavs and one of the Selwood brothers. Try to break even in the midfield with the knowledge that Dangerfield will make it function up forward.

Dangerfield is a clearance and contested possession brute who gains enormous territory with his generally long kicking, but despite much attention and diligence to his kicking efficiency it’s possibly the only slight flaw still in his repertoire.

As a midfielder he doesn’t necessarily make forwards better. Put simply, he can butcher the ball, hence his desire to handball more in 2017 — up to an average of 17 handballs a game, double four years ago.

Conversely, when Danger spends time in the midfield expect a more aggressive Geelong model, ensuring a four versus four battle with possibly only the one tagging assignment.

It’s go time when Dangerfield is at the stoppages.

Balancing his possessions against potency is the artwork that Scott could shape to take him to his second premiership in seven seasons as Geelong coach.

Patrick Dangerfield fires out a handball against Sydney. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The challenge for Scott is how he maximises Geelong’s greatest asset.

Unfortunately, Joel Selwood’s influence has been restricted because of a significant ankle injury, leaving this campaign squarely on the shoulders of Dangerfield.

If Danger doesn’t hit the scoreboard regularly, the Cats’ campaign will run aground.

The start of every game is important, but magnified in finals.

Sydney kicked the first eight goals against Geelong in last year’s preliminary final and slammed the door shut on the Cats’ Grand Final aspirations.

Can Dangerfield replicate the burst influence of last weekend’s first half, when he was the difference between the teams with 4.3?

I cannot help but think that Scott kept his cards close to his chest in Round 18 when the Cats visited Adelaide. They allowed Sloane, Crouch and his brother Brad to run wild.

The football world was discussing the correlation between clamping Sloane and dismembering the Crows, yet Scott didn’t employ a tag as Sloane helped himself to 30-odd disposals and three goals.

Rory Sloane will return from injury. Picture: Sarah Reed

Matt Crouch is a ball-magnet. Picture: Sarah Reed

I feel like Scott kept his powder dry for an expected finals clash. Genius.

The Cats not only acknowledge and understand the blueprint for negating the Crows, they wrote the damn thing. Adelaide, via slick corridor ball movement, has scored heavily over the past four seasons, averaging 106 points.

But against Geelong that average drops by a staggering five goals, to 76 points.

Last time they met the aggressive ball use was on show as Rory Atkins, Sloane and Brad Crouch hunted targets in the corridor on the counter-attack, refusing to accept the safer, wider options as they pierced through a rigid Geelong defensive grid. Can they do it again?

Every week we hear coaches say games will be “won in the midfield”.

Not this one. It will be won depending what Patrick Dangerfield can or cannot do up forward.

I wish Jake Kelly all the very best of luck curtailing a champion.