Geelong shamed St Kilda on Sunday afternoon, defeating them by 96 points at Simonds Stadium, providing the Cats with an all-important percentage boost following their 110-point loss to Sydney in Round 11.
“(In the win against St Kilda) percentage was the most important thing, with what happened against Sydney, they needed a match to get that (percentage) back, so tick that off,” Gullan told Cats TV.
Percentage could play a big role in how the final four unfolds and, despite the win on the Sunday; the Cats have the lowest percentage of the top six clubs.
“There’s going to be probably six teams that are right there, then there’s going to be a gap, so percentage – which you don’t usually think about when you’re up the top end – is important,” Gullan said.
“You’ve got (a potential) Port Adelaide home final, no one wins there, Sydney, the way they’re going, you don’t really want to have to go to Sydney, and then Freo if they come good, so there’s machinations you want to avoid.
“So you’ve got to build that percentage and keep those wins up, because then the argument between fourth and fifth comes into play,” Gullan said.
In the first week of finals, the top four play each other in tough second chance battles, whereas fifth plays eighth, leading some to consider the tactical advantages of finishing fifth as opposed to fourth.
“Everyone says the double chance for obvious reasons, but if you go through the fifth (team), fifth play eighth and you’ll win that because eighth will be some team that’s only just in there.
“So you play three weeks in a row but you’re probably going to have to anyway, so confidence wise, you keep rolling, it’s not a bad theory,” Gullan said.
St Kilda were premiership contenders alongside Geelong only a few years ago, however on the weekend the rivals looked leagues apart, with Gullan crediting the Cats’ philosophy for their continued competitiveness.
“(Under Ross Lyon) St Kilda went for the jugular, thought they could win one, but they never had anything about planning for the future… St Kilda are paying the price.
“Whereas the Cats, Chris Scott came in and the first thing he did was (focus on) planning for the future and they still managed to win a flag.
“Geelong have been elite in player management and people management, and we’re seeing the results now,” Gullan said.
To hear from Scott Gullan about the upcoming Gold Coast game, click on the video above.
