Cats primed to play role of September wrecking ball for fringe contenders

Geelong seized top position when dealing Fremantle with coach Chris Scott saying the Cats will improve further in the run to the finals.

Patrick Dangerfield has returned to his best form for the Cats and was a factor in their dominant win over Fremantle. Picture: Getty Images.

After seizing top spot with a dominant victory over Fremantle, Geelong are poised to add a twist to the role of the September spoiler in 2021 in their “endless search for perfection”.

Usually the spoiling role belongs to a team outside the eight which finds form too late in the season to qualify for the finals, but does play a part in shaping its make-up.

But the Cats, 69 point winners over the Dockers at Optus Stadium on Thursday night, have an opportunity to become a wrecking ball against fringe contenders for the eight in the run to September.

It was Fremantle’s heaviest loss of the year. In a mismatch, the Cats posted a tenth win from their past 11 games to enhance their hopes of securing the double-chance.

The Dockers lost five percentage points, dropped a position to eighth and could well slide to 12th by the end of the round should results continue to go against them this weekend.

But it is unlikely Fremantle will be the only fringe finals aspirant to feel the wrath of the Cats given coach Chris Scott believes they can play even better.

“Our plan is always to get better as the year goes on, and on that endless search for perfection,” he said

Richmond, which was to play Brisbane on the Gold Coast on Friday night, is seeking a third premiership in succession but currently sits one win outside the eight.

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The Tigers face Geelong in a reprisal of last year’s grand final next weekend and, barring a significant form reversal, could well receive the death knock to their season.

The Cats also face the Giants and St Kilda, who are currently sitting just outside the eight, in a run home that concludes with a potential minor premiership battle with Melbourne.

Geelong was able to cover the absence of star forward Jeremy Cameron, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, without any issues against Fremantle.

It is a testament to the Cats depth that they have been able to rotate a squad with regularity, freshening up players when needed, though the injury to Cameron did raise questions.

Of the leading premiership contenders, only five Geelong footballers have played every game this year.

Melbourne, which will regain top spot should it defeat Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday, has 12 players who have played every game.

Of the other leading contenders, eleven Lions, nine Port Adelaide players and eight Bulldogs and Swans have played every game to date in 2021.

“We think with some players to come back and some players who have been managed … we have got a lot of guys that have not had the arduous workload of a full season,” Scott said.

“So we are optimistic that we can hit our stride in pretty good form going into the finals.”

After some uncertainty given the current Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria, the Cats were given permission to return home on Friday after spending two days in a quarantine bubble in WA.

It is not yet certain where they will play the Tigers in a match scheduled for next Sunday.

The Cats have requested the AFL consider switching the match from the MCG to GMHBA Stadium in Geelong, where the Tigers have not played since late in 2017.

Richmond consultant Neil Balme, who conceded on Friday “hunger may be a bit of an issue” in the Tigers slump, said the Tigers are due to fly back to Victoria at 10am on Saturday.

“While it is a bit crazy and it certainly makes it hard for a normal family life, which is very much a challenge, but in terms of the players … our blokes are pretty good at it,” he told SEN.