The Cats are preparing to run around in week two of the finals for the first time since 2005, and while Fremantle are rated rank outsiders to beat them, Thompson has warned his players against being overconfident.
“I thought [Fremantle] were fantastic against Hawthorn on the weekend,” Thompson said at Skilled Stadium on Monday.
“I thought they really enjoyed the opportunity to play finals and they’ve got some outstanding young players and some good depth with their older players.
“We know we’re facing a knock-out final and we cannot afford to take Fremantle lightly at all and we totally respect them.”
Geelong could make a couple of changes to its team for this weekend, with key forward James Podsiadly available for selection after serving his suspension and Tom Lonergan available after being a late withdrawal on Friday night.
“I sort of guaranteed Podsy a spot last week, but he’s no certainty,” Thompson said. “He’s just a good chance to play.
“We probably could have used Lonergan last week as a bit of a fill-in against [Nick] Riewoldt and Kosi [Justin Koschitzke] as it turned out.”
No-one down at Geelong is quite sure why the reigning premier started so slowly in its qualifying final against St Kilda.
The Cats were 33 points down early in the third quarter, before they fought back bravely, only to fall four points short.
“I’ve tried to work it, I’ve analysed it, I’ve watched it a few times,” Thompson said.
“I’ve spoken to a few of the players and they can’t work it out either. Not sure whether they took it easy, or there was too much anxiety.”
However, the Cats are still disappointed with the free kick that was paid against Cameron Mooney with one minute left on the clock.
The decision ruled out Cameron Ling’s winning goal, and severely dented Geelong’s chances of winning a third premiership in four seasons.
“The free kick was probably there,” Thompson said. “It was probably the 15 other ones that they didn’t pay that were probably wrong.”
