GEELONG superstar Patrick Dangerfield will come under scrutiny for an off-the-ball incident in the narrow loss to Greater Western Sydney, but Cats coach Chris Scott doesn't expect him to have a case to answer.
Just before half-time, with Geelong leading by nine points at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday, the Cats had possession at half-back when Dangerfield tangled with Giants tagger Matt de Boer at half-forward.
As de Boer rested a hand on Dangerfield from behind, the 2016 Brownlow medallist swung his left arm back and made contact to de Boer's stomach region and he doubled over.
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Moments later Dangerfield, who continued to watch the play upfield, repeated the dose and made only glancing contact with the top of de Boer's head, if at all.
Scott said he didn't yet have enough information to form an opinion on the incident but made it clear he believes he will have his champion midfielder at his disposal for the Easter Monday clash with Hawthorn.
"There was an umpire there and it wasn't even a free kick. So let's just deal with the facts – it wasn't a free kick," Scott told reporters post-match.
"There might have been some contact to the body. These days you might try to milk a free kick if you cop a push. That's the way it's been umpired. But if there's not much in it you jump back to your feet and play on, which seems to me to be the facts.
"Everyone agree? … Come on... Or do you want to hang him? Who wants to hang him?
"I'm trying to be polite and in a good mood. I'm struggling."
WATCH Chris Scott's full post-match media conference
Scott was disappointed with the Cats' performance against the Giants as they went down by four points in a thriller – their first loss for the season.
He said his team wasted its early dominance and could have been five goals clear instead of holding just a 15-point advantage in the first term, before being outplayed by a "really good" Greater Western Sydney for the last three quarters.
Scott also rued a lack of composure from his players in the third term when they were outscored six goals to three, and again late in the game when his team was searching for a go-ahead goal.
HOLDING IT! #AFLCatsGiants pic.twitter.com/qIZFKHCYMO
— AFL (@AFL) April 13, 2019
"After quarter-time they were the better team," he said.
"The bottom line is we were outplayed for three quarters. Still had our chances but sometimes you get beaten by the better team on the day and they are a team full of very, very good players."
Not even the Giants' early loss of co-captain Callan Ward swayed things in Geelong's favour in the midfield, which became the visitors' domain in the second half.
Callan Ward has been assisted from the field after twisting awkwardly in this contest.#AFLCatsGiants pic.twitter.com/xfJhO9IbP5
— AFL (@AFL) April 13, 2019
"Ward goes out (and) that only leaves them with Taranto and Hopper and Kelly and Coniglio and Whitfield. It's a big group of players," Scott said.
However, the Cats coach expected his team to bounce back quickly.
"The message from us will be, 'It's disappointing and it should hurt when you lose, but we're doing enough right to be optimistic about the future,'" he said.