Scott on Team Selection...

It's always difficult when you play on Monday and you've got to name a squad on Thursday so as is our way, our policy is that if we think there's a one percent chance of a guy playing we put him in the squad. 

So, Jack Henry, I think it's reasonable to say it's very unlikely but he's in the squad because they're telling me there's a chance. Very small, but 'Dumb and Dumber' style, there's a chance. And it's a bit the same with a couple of others. But it's not unusual for us four days out from the game to be a bit uncertain about the health status of our players. 

We'll name another squad tonight [Friday] but then we'll still be 48 hours pre-game and that's always subject to change. 

Scott on Dangerfield...

Danger [is one of those]. He's just got a couple of corks right in the spot that had been worrying him. That obviously impacted him in the game. I'll take the advice of our medical staff, but again, they're saying he's a chance so he's in the squad. 

If we thought it was going to hold him up for even a couple of weeks we wouldn't play him. They were really confident last week that he was fine, and he was moving around well early in the game but he just got a knock on the same spot so all of those things will be considered when we decide whether he plays, but our coaching group has a very strong bias to not pressuring the medical staff.

So there are two parts to that. One is we have a low threshold for pushing a guy out there they're worried about and two, we give them as much time as possible to make that decision, so there's a chance that decision is made an hour before the game and we're fine with that. 

Scott on Ratugolea...

The preference is for him to get his injury really right and a lot of guys play with, say niggling ankles they can play with, but they would certainly be better in a couple of weeks if they took the time to get it even better. We're always in a race against time, so would 52 weeks be better, yeah it would but sometimes you've got to draw the line, so two or three weeks are going to be really good for him compared to bringing him back without having a week off at all.

Now, the reason we've put him in the squad in the last couple of weeks is if we get an injury to a ruckman he's available to play so that's likely to be the case this week as well, where he'll be in the squad, he's unlikely to play because we want to get his injury right, but if something happens he's medically clear to play. 

Scotty on Dempsey's Development...

We haven't decided what our final team is yet because we've got a few balls in the air but the fact that Ollie's in our squad speaks to how far he's come in such a short space of time.

A couple of years ago he was a basketballer. He played a little bit of footy at Carey Grammer although he didn't really decide that he wanted to play footy until recently and was plucked out of a few games of old boys footy. But to use the old cliche around the basketball players and the spacial awareness and things like that it looks like he's picked up what we're trying to do really quickly and he's performed well at VFL level.

The way that some of our young players, well, players across the competition, have been deprived of VFL footy has probably stunted their development a little bit but he's taken his chance to come in straight away and perform well. He will develop physically over the years obviously but he doesn't rely on his strength necessarily, he's a bit more of an elusive player, good skills for a guy that hasn't played much footy and a little bit of X factor about him. 

Scott on Jezza the Midfielder... 

It's a good debate internally. I smile because I enjoy the debate.

I'll put my position forward and you can go and hunt down the other assistant coaches... I think we're evenly split, or probably a little bit in favour of having him in there. I reckon if we ran our game like the NFL, and we had special teams we'd have him in every centre bounce, take a time out and then take a kick inside 50, we'd have him in the centre bounce and then we'd have him inside 50 for the entry, that's my rationale. He's very, very good at it. 

[We discovered it] through trial and error. For some reason, he was doing a few at training one day and the boys' said, 'that's hard to play against'. And that's one of the things that I hope keeps us fresh, we're curious. We've got a really curious coaching group at the moment and they've thrown up a few things that I've never heard of before and it keeps you on your toes. 

GEELONG has bounced back from its shock defeat to Hawthorn in round four, thrashing a disappointing North Melbourne by 60 points at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Cats were never threatened and registered their ninth consecutive victory against the Roos, 17.19 (121) to 9.7 (61).

The Kangaroos are 1-5 for the season, have lost four games on the bounce, and their average losing margin in 2022 is an alarming 53.4 points.

Geelong’s star forward duo of Jeremy Cameron (seven goals) and Tom Hawkins (four) had a day out, combing for 11 goals, while Zach Tuohy (33 disposals) and Cameron Guthrie (28) were prolific.

The Cats controlled much of the opening term (they were +53 for possessions and +12 for contested possessions), but after majors to Cameron and Brad Close, the Cats were wasteful in front of goal.

Tuohy was creating plenty of drive off half-back and finished the first quarter with 12 possessions, while Geelong debutant Oliver Dempsey did some nice things and had two shots at goals.

The Roos lifted late in the quarter and finally kicked a goal, via Hugh Greenwood, in the 22nd minute, but a late goal to Guthrie was not what the doctor ordered for North, and Geelong went to the first break 17 points in front.

It was the perfect start to the second quarter for North Melbourne, with Luke McDonald snapping a long goal within 20 seconds, but Cameron replied with his second a minute later.
Cameron was particularly busy in the second term, kicking three goals and setting one up for his partner in crime, Hawkins, while Tuohy continued to run amok, and by half-time, the Irishman had racked up 21 touches.

A four-goal to one second quarter saw Geelong take a 37-point edge into the main break.

Like they did in the second quarter, North Melbourne kicked a quick goal to start the third, with Cameron Zurhaar (two goals) registering his first.

The Roos’ joy was short-lived, however, as Hawkins kicked his second minutes later, while his third came after Dempsey’s first, which sent was well-received by his team-mates and coach.

A six-goal to two quarter handed Geelong a 64-point margin at the final change, and David Noble and Co. were staring down the barrel of another hefty defeat.

Incredibly, the Cats had kicked 9.11 to 0.3 from turnovers up until three-quarter-time.

North Melbourne salvaged something from the wreck, winning the final term 5.2 to 4.4, but they have plenty of soul-searching to do ahead of a date with the 4-2 Blues on Saturday night.

Geelong’s star forwards fill their boots at Blundstone

Star Cats duo Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins feasted on North Melbourne’s defence, kicking a combined 11 goals. Cameron booted seven (and should have kicked at least nine) – his best return in the hoops, and a new Blundstone Arena record – and was best afield, while Hawkins added four. Cameron is enjoying a brilliant season, tallying 20 goals from six outings. Hawkins, who has 20 goals for the year, enjoyed an entertaining battle with Ben McKay, and truth be told, the contest was pretty even. When they’re up and about like they were on Sunday, they’re arguable the best one-two key forward combination in the competition.

Debutants show plenty of promise

Both sides would be well-pleased with the debuts of their youngsters, Oliver Dempsey (Geelong) and Paul Curtis (North Melbourne). Dempsey who had plenty of mates in the stands, showed plenty, finishing with 15 possessions and a goal. After a few failed attempts in the first half, the former basketballer, who was taken with pick 15 in last year’s NAB AFL Rookie Draft, kicked his first goal early in the third quarter, much to the delight of his team-mates and coach Chris Scott. He has poise, reads the ball well, and has a touch of class. The Cats have found (another) one. Curtis, meanwhile, who was selected with pick 35 in last year’s NAB AFL National Draft, finished with 11 disposals and 1.3. He did some nice things and will no doubt derive great benefit from the outing.

Young Cats defender is darn good

There’s plenty to like about this 21-year-old key backman. Playing just his sixth AFL game, Sam De Koning finished with a career-best 15 touches at 73 per cent efficiency. He had five contested possessions, six pressure acts, four intercept possessions, four contested marks and three rebound 50s. Most importantly, he is more comfortable at the level every week and looks destined to be an integral part of Geelong’s defence for many years to come. A Dandenong Stingrays product, De Koning was selected by the Cats with pick 19 in the 2019 NAB AFL Draft.

NORTH MELBOURNE          1.2          2.4          4.5          9.7(61)
GEELONG                            3.7          7.11        13.15      17.19 (121)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Zurhaar 3, Curtis, Davies-Uniacke, Greenwood, McDonald, Simpkin, Ziebell

Geelong: Cameron 7, Hawkins 4, Stengle 2, Dempsey, Close, Guthrie, Selwood

BEST
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke, McDonald, Simpkin, Horne-Francis, Zurhaar
Geelong: Cameron, Tuohy, Guthrie, Selwood, Smith, Atkins, Stanley

INJURIES
North Melbourne: McKay (leg)
Geelong: None

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Eddie Ford (unused)
Geelong: Luke Dahlhaus (unused)

Crowd: 8663 at Blundstone Arena