It may only be Round 4, but in a shortened season Geelong’s clash against the Demons on Sunday shapes as a must win game.

The Cats will enter the match looking to make amends after they went down to Carlton by two points last Saturday.

Last time we met: Round 2, 2019 – Geelong 20.6 (126) def Melbourne 6.10 (46)

Gary Rohan led the scorers with three goals in an even team performance, while Patrick Dangerfield (37 touches) and Charlie Constable (31 touches) were the leading disposal winners for the Cats.

Clayton Oliver was a beast inside for the Dees finishing with 44 disposals (25 contested) and 13 clearances

For and Against: Played 218 games | Won: 131 | Drawn: 2 | Lost: 85

Who Dares Wins

It has been evident since the return of football that getting off to a good start has never been more important with shortened quarters.

Across rounds two and three, the team that has been leading at quarter time has gone on to win 12 of the 17 matches played.

Tom Hawkins is hopeful the Cats can produce a more consistent performance from the outset.

“I think our approach will be that we need to get back to the way that we play when we are playing great footy,” Hawkins said speaking to media at GMHBA Stadium on Wednesday morning.

“We saw that in the last quarter, we played really daring football, we were on the front foot and we were attacking really well.

“So, I think it is more of taking that sort of approach into the game early against Melbourne on Sunday and then letting our game flow from there.”

READ - IN THE MIX

Gawn v Cats rucks

Geelong’s ruck department will face one of the biggest challenges in the game when they come up against Max Gawn on Sunday.

The 208cm giant is an imposing figure and a terrific player to boot.

The Dee’s skipper has an excellent individual record against the Cats. Gawn ranks second for hit-outs and fifth for clearances when ranked against other AFL clubs.

Although Gawn is a hard man to stop, restricting his influence will be crucial for the Cats.

With Rhys Stanley in doubt with a medial ligament strain, the ruck duties could fall to Darcy Fort and Esava Ratugolea. 

Pressure Points

The Cats will need to be able to stand up and handle the pressure better this week if they want to secure victory against Melbourne.

When the heat was at its highest last week, the Cats struggled to handle Carlton’s pressure and that impacted their disposal efficiency.

“We didn’t handle the pressure that Carlton put on us,” Hawkins said.

“We turned the ball over and moving forward we just didn’t have much method, but that came off the back of their pressure.”

If they can turn the tide and produce the type of football they displayed against the Hawks, it will put them in a great position.

Expect star trio Patrick Dangerfield (48%), Gary Ablett (50%) and Joel Selwood (55%) to come out firing this week after not using the ball as well as they would have liked last week.

Round 4 vs Melbourne

Date: Sunday 28 June @ 3.35pm
Location: MCG

Broadcast

Watch: Channel Seven, Fox Footy, Kayo and AFL app.
Listen: K rock Football

GEELONG has held off a surging Melbourne outfit to claim its second win of the season.  

The Cats recorded a three-point victory, but Melbourne kicked three of the last four goals of the game and came close to stealing the points.

The third term proved crucial for Geelong as they kicked four goals to one on the way to the final score line of 7.5 (47) to 6.8 (44).

Midfielders Sam Menegola (25 disposals), Cam Guthrie (24 disposals and a goal), Patrick Dangerfield (22 disposals and a goal) and Joel Selwood (23 disposals) were crucial in setting up the win. 

Geelong's defence was valiant for most of the day, but the win was soured after star defender Tom Stewart left the game with a suspected broken collarbone.

The Cats now face a challenging block of games, with the in-form Suns, Saints and Magpies all to come over the next three weeks.

Melbourne will be aiming to bounce back with road games against Sydney and Fremantle, before a round seven match up against the Western Bulldogs.

Ruck duo stand up to Dees skipper

Geelong's ruck pair of Darcy Fort and Esava Ratugolea were never going to beat Melbourne's Max Gawn in the hit-out category, but their contributions were vital. Fort opened the game with a huge contested mark and kicked the first goal of the game, while Ratugolea snagged one of his own with a 55-metre bomb in the third term. Fort came in as the replacement for the injured Rhys Stanley and held his own with 19 hit-outs to Gawn's 34.

Switched-off midfielders and forwards are coach killers for Demons

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin must have been frustrated with the lack of communication and defensive structure from his midfield and forward groups. Dangerfield was able to find a wide-open Mitch Duncan in acres of space early. Luke Dahlhaus was then able to give an easy hand off for a running Dangerfield in the third term as the star launched one from outside 50. Both goals were easily preventable, but the Demons were caught napping on both occasions.

Unheralded defender is just as crucial to Melbourne's backline as Lever and May

While Jake Lever and Steven May stand as the key pillars in Melbourne's defence, it's the versatility and speed of medium defender Joel Smith that was just as vital to holding Geelong to a low score on Sunday. Smith went without a disposal in the first quarter but played as the deepest defender and provided two stops on Dangerfield when he floated forward.

MELBOURNE           0.1       2.3       3.5     6.8 (44)
GEELONG               2.1       2.2       6.4     7.5 (47)

GOALS
Melbourne: Brayshaw 2, Fritsch, Petracca, Hunt, McDonald
Geelong:  Hawkins, Fort, Duncan, Ratugolea, Dangerfield, Parfitt, Guthrie

BEST
Melbourne: Oliver, Viney, Petracca, Gawn, Brayshaw, Tomlinson,
Geelong: Guthrie, Menegola, Dangerfield, Selwood, Parfitt, Duncan

INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Geelong: Tom Stewart (collarbone)