THERE is a general view that Geelong is behind the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn in the race for this year's premiership, but veteran Cat James Kelly believes his side belongs in the debate.
Geelong is placed third on the ladder, equal with the Swans and Hawks on 52 points (but behind on percentage), leading into Saturday night's crucial clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
Much of the scepticism surrounding Geelong is extrapolated out of its tendency to play patchy football – something Kelly insists the Cats have been working on all season.
"We're probably tinkering with it a little bit still," Kelly said ahead of his 250th game on Saturday night.
"When something like that happens, you try to find if there's any one thing. But the reality is, there probably isn't.
"You try to fix up a lot of different things and that does take time, but we're pretty confident over the next four to five weeks we can have a real run at the finals and get some momentum."
As for whether the Cats should be included among the premiership contenders, Kelly is confident Geelong's best football is "good enough".
"If we produce what we know we can, we're around the mark but if we play the way we have and have second-half fade outs it's going to be pretty tough for us," Kelly said.
"I watched the Hawthorn and Sydney game (in round 18). Those two teams went at it for four quarters and it was a really good game to watch.
"We have to be able to bring that over a long period of time and that's what wins finals."
The three-time premiership Cat expects a fired-up Kangaroos side when the teams meet at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
North is coming off a 23-point loss to Carlton and understands the importance of maintaining its buffer over Essendon, Adelaide, Collingwood and Gold Coast at the base of the top eight.
"I read Jack Ziebell's comments today and he was saying they're going to come out and attack and play with that flair that they're really good at," Kelly said.
"I'd expect nothing less from them. They're a really good side and when they do focus on something during the week, they tend to do it pretty well from what I've seen."
