TAKING on his former team for the first time in Geelong colours will be all business for boom Cats recruit Patrick Dangerfield.
The 26-year-old former Crow said he was looking forward to Friday night's encounter but the inevitable hype in the lead-up would not distract him from the job ahead.
"For me this week and for the team it is going to be business," Dangerfield said.
Five talking points: Geelong v West Coast
"We go there to get four points. We're going there for one reason and one reason only."
After 153 games in eight seasons with the Crows and last year's best and fairest, Dangerfield requested a trade to Geelong to be close to family and live where he grew up.
The Crows agreed to the trade with a heavy heart and respected his decision for leaving.
Since the start of the year, Dangerfield has been in brilliant form with the Cats and is an early Brownlow Medal favourite.
But he knows Friday night will be a new experience for him and is relishing the thought.
"I spent a long time there and played a lot of footy there, and have great mates there and I would be lying if I didn't say I was looking forward to playing against them," Dangerfield said.
With both Geelong and Adelaide in good form this year, the game shapes as one of the most anticipated clashes for the year.
"They are a very good side and playing really good footy but at the same time we're playing good footy as well so we go in with plenty of confidence," Dangerfield said.
When asked what response he expected from the Crows crowd, he couldn't help but deliver a light-hearted response.
"I think they will cheer and be really happy for me," Dangerfield said.
His coach Chris Scott said the Cats knew hype would surround the clash but said they would take Dangerfield's lead and take it in their stride.
"Paddy is a pro and we aspire to be a really professional club so we certainly won't be trying to manage the situation too much because we understand that there will be great theatre in his return, for the fans in particular," Scott said.
He said Dangerfield's teammates understood better than anyone there was little point in trying to get under the star midfielder's skin.
"Sometimes you can needle opposition players and it only spurs them on…you have to be quite selective when you start booing players," Scott said.
Dangerfield said the Cats' midfield was combining well as a unit but they knew it was still relatively early in the season.
"At the end of the day we are coming into round eight this week so it is a long season and we have to pace ourselves for that," Dangerfield said.
