The Drill podcast: The Geelong midfielders who have lifted in the absence of Joel Selwood

PODCAST: GEELONG went 3-0 without injured skipper Joel Selwood as the midfield picked and the slack — and in a big way. Find out who has been the most damaging.

Joel Selwood missed the last three home-and-away games but his teammates stepped out. Picture: Gettyy Images

GEELONG coach Chris Scott tapped into his midfield depth to cover Joel Selwood.

In the three matches the Cats’ inspirational captain has missed, a suite of Selwood’s midfield mates have chipped in to pick up the slack.

This is no two-man ‘Dangerwood’ team.

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Geelong went 3-0 without Selwood, defeating top-four counterparts Richmond and Greater Western Sydney in the build-up to September.

But with Selwood set to make a brave recovery after revolutionary ankle surgery in the qualifying final, can his onball mates maintain the rage?

Without Selwood, his brother Scott Selwood, Sam Menegola, Patrick Dangerfield and Cameron Guthrie have all boosted their SuperCoach average by at least 16 points.

Cats midfield without Joel Selwood

Player	Rounds 1-20 (w/Selwood)	Rounds 21-23 (w/o Selwood)	Differential
Sam Menegola	96.8 ranking points	117.7	+20.9
Scott Selwood	85.8	105	+19.3
Cameron Guthrie	71	89.3	+18.3
Patrick Dangerfield	134	150	+16
Jake Kolodjashnij	54.3	66.3	+12.1
Mitch Duncan	108.9	117	+8.1
Jordan Murdoch	69.6	77	+7.4

Sam Menegola is among several Cats midfielders to go to a new level since Joel Selwood’s injury. Picture: Getty Images

They are up against one of the AFL’s best contested-footy teams in the Tigers.

While Richmond is ranked 12th for overall contested possession, they are ranked No.3 for ground ball differentials, No.3 for looseball differentials and No.5 for hardball differentials.

Led by Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Dion Prestia, the Tigers are among the game’s most ferocious when the ball is up for grabs at ground level.

As explained on this week’s podcast of The Drill, it is Richmond’s lowly contested marking differential and free kick discrepancy which has hurt its contested ball ranking.

But with a shivery night at the MCG forecast, Richmond excels in congestion in what is tipped to be a battle of the backlines.

The Drill previewed all four finals:

Start: Geelong v Richmond

14min: Sydney v Essendon

19min 45sec: Port Adelaide v West Coast

27min: Adelaide v GWS