Saturday, May 10 2009, 2.10pm, Skilled Stadium
Season to date
It’s been smooth sailing in 2009 for the team widely regarded as the competition’s best. Six games, six wins by an average of 38 points and a place in the top two has Geelong on track to repeat its grand final appearances of the past two seasons.
Skipper Tom Harley, who returns from a knee injury this week, hasn’t played a game this season and ruckman Brad Ottens and vice-captain Cameron Ling have both missed several matches, making the Cats' achievements all the more impressive.
Recent form
Round two – Geelong 15.15 (105) d Richmond 13.7 (85), Skilled Stadium
Round three – Geelong 18.14 (122) d Collingwood 13.17 (95), MCG
Round four – Geelong 21.8 (134) d Adelaide 13.8 (86), AAMI Stadium
Round five – Geelong 18.18 (126) d Brisbane Lions 5.3 (33), Skilled Stadium
Round six – Geelong 15.21 (111) d Melbourne 10.8 (68), MCG
Last time they met
Geelong 20.13 (133) d Sydney Swans 14.10 (94), round 20, 2008, ANZ Stadium
The Cats started brilliantly with a seven-goal opening quarter and led by 22 points at half time. Another seven goals in the third term set up a 53-point break at the last change, before the Swans rallied with six majors in the final quarter.
Gary Ablett was sensational for the Cats with 32 possessions and three goals, a scoring tally matched by Shannon Byrnes and Tom Lonergan. Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood also combined for 82 touches in the midfield.
For the Swans, Barry Hall booted 5.3 in a lone hand up forward, Brett Kirk gave his all in the midfield and Tadhg Kennelly and Martin Mattner provided plenty of drive from defence.
The venue: Skilled Stadium
Geelong has beaten the Swans in their past five encounters at Skilled. However, the Swans have been highly competitive on each occasion, going down by an average of 21 points.
The Swans’ most recent victory came in round eight, 1999, when they defeated the Cats by 41 points for their second win at the venue in as many years.
The coach: Mark Thompson
The former Essendon skipper and three-time premiership player began his coaching career at the Cattery in 2000 and endured a rollercoaster few seasons as the club alternated finals appearances with poorer years.
With time he has built the team to carry out his vision and, barring a poor year in 2006 that sparked a comprehensive review of the club’s football operations, Geelong has been a powerhouse for the past six years.
With 48 wins from their past 51 games and a premiership in the bag, the Cats are the league’s best team by a stretch.
Strengths
Forget gun midfielders and a rock-solid defence – Swans coach Paul Roos said it best when he nominated the Cats’ evenness as their greatest strength. With a core group of onballers including Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Paul Chapman, Ling, Joel Selwood and Joel Corey, Geelong’s engine room runs deep.
Add the experience of returning captain Harley to a defence that boasts Matthew Scarlett and Darren Milburn and it's clear why the Cats are a tough nut to crack.
Missing in action
The man rated by many as the best player in the competition, Ablett, will miss this weekend’s clash with an adductor strain suffered against Melbourne last weekend. He’ll be a loss to the Geelong midfield but the Cats have a raft of players capable of taking up the slack.
Ottens (knee) is the other major absentee and he is still four weeks away from a possible return. Fellow senior players Josh Hunt (knee) and Matthew Egan (foot) are out for the season.
The key: play your best and hope
It sounds like a defeatist attitude but the Swans are simply being realistic. Roos conceded on Thursday that if the Cats produced their best football, they were certain victors. All the Swans can do is give their most intense effort for every minute of the game and hope that Geelong falters under the pressure.
It’s certainly not an impossible task, as the Swans have shown in recent times. They trailed by 10 points in the final term at Skilled Stadium last year before the Cats blew them away late. They’ll be hoping to better that effort on Saturday.
The young gun: Tom Hawkins
The ‘Tomahawk’ burst on to the AFL scene in 2007 with seven goals in his first two games but the giant young forward failed to reproduce that early form. He managed 19 games in his first two years but did not feature in any of Geelong’s finals campaigns.
A leaner, stronger Hawkins has played five of the Cats’ six matches this season and his improved team play has added a new dimension to an already-potent forward line with eight goals and several assists.
The son of Geelong favourite 'Jumping' Jack Hawkins will prove a handful for the Swans defence. Lewis Roberts-Thomson looms as an obvious choice to get first crack.
The big questions
Can the Swans maintain the necessary intensity to challenge the league’s best team? Will Ablett’s absence have any effect on his teammates? How will Harley and Ling fare in their returns to football? Can Hall find his goalkicking radar after an errant day against Richmond?
What they’re saying
"All we know is that we are playing a pretty strong club, which plays a certain style and with your preparation you need to be spot on.
"If you’re not there and you’re not committed to the ball, then you’ll get beaten."
– Geelong coach Mark Thompson
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
