SHANNON Neale's fourth AFL match will be massive as Geelong looks to the 21-year-old for important contributions in the ruck and up forward against St Kilda.
Geelong is 11th, half a game outside the top eight, and must beat the sixth-placed Saints on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium to keep its premiership defence alive with one more game until the finals.
While the return of key forward Tom Hawkins is obviously a massive boost for the Cats, coach Chris Scott notes it also means he will play alongside Jeremy Cameron and Neale for the first time this season.
Scott said they have wanted since the pre-season to try Hawkins, Cameron and Neale as marking options in attack.
"It's really pleasing to have him (Hawkins) back. Even more than that, it's a combination of Jeremy and Tom, with young Shannon Neale as well," Scott said.
"We're really optimistic that those three can cause some headaches."
Scott noted last week Geelong had 19 inside 50s to Collingwood's five in the last quarter, but could not overrun them and lost by eight points.
"It's not necessarily a supply issue," Scott said of their attack.
Neale will also be needed in the ruck against in-form Saints big man Rowan Marshall, given Geelong's frontline ruckmen Rhys Stanley, Mark Blicavs and Jon Ceglar are injured.
Scott acknowledged Marshall's threat, but added Geelong must make sure it maximises its own strengths.
"They (St Kilda) are heavily dependent on him. He spends big minutes in the ruck, he covers the ground really well," Scott said.
"We've got to find ways not only to nullify him, but to ask some questions of him going the other way."
Scott said Stanley is a chance to return next week, while Blicavs could be ready for the first week of the finals if the Cats make the top eight.
He added they toyed with Cam Guthrie returning from injury against St Kilda, but opted to give him a run in the VFL instead.
But before those premiership players return, the Cats must deliver against the Saints, who are playing at their home ground for the sixth time in seven weeks.
"It's just naive for any coach in the modern game to disregard the venue, disregard the weapons at your disposal, in favour of playing the game style you want to play," Scott said.
"The good coaches always adapt to the situation and what they have."
The two-time Geelong premiership coach said the urgency of winning on Saturday night is obvious.
"That's the equation, that bit's not complicated – the more complicated part is how the teams approach it," he said.
"In our mind, there's no point running away from the importance of the game. That part's really clear.
"We just want to be intent on playing our game as well as we possibly can without the pressure of the situation getting to us.
"But that pressure is real and I don't think either team will be running away from it – you have no choice but to acknowledge it, embrace it and find a way to let your best footy flow from there."
