AFTER accepting the suspension handed out to Patrick Dangerfield, Geelong has shifted its focus to Friday night's huge clash with the Sydney Swans.

Geelong coach Chris Scott said the Cats will field a relatively young team against the Swans, who have lost just two of their past 12 games.

In addition to Dangerfield's absence, Nakia Cockatoo will miss with to a hamstring injury, while neither Dan Menzel nor Steve Motlop will return after missing last week as they freshened up for the run home.

Scott said although Dangerfield was unlucky to be suspended, the club had no complaints because, as professional sportspeople, they learned to accept both good and bad luck.

He said however the Cats would be unlikely to change the way they coached their players to tackle in the future because of the Match Review Panel's decision.

"If the alternative is to be a very poor tackling team and be poor in the contest, then I think we are just going to have to risk that players are going to inadvertently cross the boundaries as the rulemakers dictate they are at the moment," Scott said.

He said there was little doubt that luck had played a part in Dangerfield's tackle leading to him being suspended, but that was part of the game.

"Luck, in my experience, almost always plays a factor in these things. Especially when things aren't malicious or intentional, then sometimes you can just be on the wrong side of those things," Scott said.

He said the club took its responsibility to consider the potential Brownlow ramifications for Dangerfield seriously when determining whether to appeal, but Dangerfield had led the way in outlining the positive aspects of missing a week.

Scott said there might be up to nine different players in the Cats' line-up compared to the team the Swans defeated in the preliminary final last season.

The result of the clash at Simonds Stadium is critical for the Cats' chances of finishing top four, and has huge ramifications for the Swans' top-eight prospects.