Geelong locks in key players for blockbuster against Port Adelaide
Injury thrust Mark O’Connor into the midfield rotation in recent weeks and the premiership Cat is hoping there is more onball time to come.
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Premiership defender Mark O’Connor says he has “a lot of growth” in him as a midfielder after the longest run of his career in the engine room.
As injuries depleted the Geelong midfield in the month before the bye, with starting A-graders such as Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie joining important players like Max Holmes and Rhys Stanley on the sidelines, O’Connor, 26, was one of several Cats thrust into midfield minutes.
While he has played through the middle at times in his 99-game career, most notably as a tagger, O’Connor has generally spent his time running off the half-back flank.
But as he continues to work on his offensive edge, the reliable Cat said he can see a long-term future on the ball.
“It’s been different, it’s been a learning curve,” he said.
“You probably appreciate the importance of the midfield when you are in it a bit more, just the way the ball goes and the direction of the ball at stoppages. It has been really important to try and get the hand of it.
“It is almost like a different fitness and repeat efforts, where at half-back you might be doing more long strides on the outside.
“I am certainly happy to play whatever role they (the coaches) want me to play but I definitely think longer term, if I can grow into that midfield type it would be beneficial but obviously it is a role I have to grow in and I still have a lot of growth in that area. So maybe in the long term, yes.”
O’Connor and the Cats will face a stiff test on Thursday night, running into a Port Adelaide side that is carrying a 10-game winning streak.
Sitting at 6-6, O’Connor said his side wanted to play “a bit more consistent footy” to begin the climb the ladder, with Thursday night a good time to begin.
“They are red-hot at the minute and the Adelaide Oval always brings that atmosphere and it’s always very loud,” he said.
“It is exciting, they tend to be good games. We are obviously both coming off good wins and they are obviously on a big streak, it should be a good game.”
Cats ‘relish’ the pressure at Adelaide Oval
Chris Scott says a secret to Geelong’s recent success in Adelaide is that his players “relish the situation” of confronting a hostile Port Adelaide home crowd.
The Cats have won three of their last four games at Adelaide Oval, including two of their past four there against the Power.
While the Cats coach said the size of the ground was more similar to GMHBA Stadium than other venues, it was the ability of his team to stand up against the noise of the Power faithful that put them in good stead away from home.
“I think overall, the ground is not something that worries us too much,” he said.
“It is a great surface, the shape of the ground is not the same as Geelong but it is more similar than other grounds.
“I think we have a group of player who relish the situation too.
“It’s Thursday night, there will be a partisan crowd and the big players like that environment.
“I would love to be able to tell you we have the secret and know how to beat them and can roll it out but it’s not that simple. They are a good team and I think they have improved. But we think we are improving too.”
Scott said round 12’s win over the Western Bulldogs was a “good sign” that the Cats were getting back on track but the heat will be stepped up on Thursday night against the second-placed Power.
“Our last game was a really good sign for us and we have been optimistic that we will get better as the year goes on,” Scott said.
“Last week was hopefully the start of it and it’s a good chance against the hottest team in the comp this week.”
Cats welcome back a host of stars for Port trip
Geelong is poised to welcome back an “A-grade contingent” for Thursday’s blockbuster clash with Port Adelaide, as captain Patrick Dangerfield leads a pack of returning stars.
Cats coach Chris Scott has cleared each of Dangerfield (hamstring), Max Holmes (knee), Jack Bowes (calf) and Mitch Duncan (hamstring) for the trip to Adelaide.
And premiership ruck Rhys Stanley is also available after overcoming vision issues as a result of an eye socket fracture, but the Cats are weighing up whether to bring him in or give him one more week on the sidelines.
Defender Oisin Mullin (adductor) will be one player left out of Geelong’s side, with the Cats set to take a large contingent on the plane to Adelaide on Wednesday.
Scott said the Cats were considering playing both Stanley and fellow ruck Jonathon Ceglar but “we are not as certain on that set up” as the other four returning players.
Stanley suffered the fracture back in round 5 and hasn’t played at any level since.
“We will just have to think a little bit about Rhys given the amount he missed and the opportunity it presents to possibly play two ruckman,” Scott said.
“We haven’t played Ceglar and Stanley together for a long time but that is a little more complicated for us given Rhys has missed a bit of footy.”
Scott said he thought Dangerfield was ready to return before Geelong’s bye for round 12’s win over the Western Bulldogs.
Cats coaches had been working on a plan for weeks on reintegrating the returning handful, with each of them powering through multiple weeks of training on the track.
“The guys we are bringing back are a little bit more spread across the ground and we have been thinking about how we reintroduce them over the past month so we are more confident about how seamless this will be than some other situations,” Scott said.
“My take is (Dangerfield) could have played and I still stand by that now and I only really bring that up to make a point of how confident we are that he can come back in and play well this game.”
The Cats will face a red-hot Power side that has won their last 10 games and Scott said he was confident his returning stars will take the fight up to the Port Adelaide midfield.
“We are pleased to get something like our A-grade contingent back, we think we are well placed to more than break even with those guys in the midfield so then it becomes a matter of who can use the ball effectively going forward,” he said.
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