The scene is set for a blockbuster game when the Cats meet the Power at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.
Both sides enter the game in red-hot form after Geelong dismantled the Saints and Port Adelaide proved their premiership credentials with a win against Richmond.
For and Against: Played 33 games | Won: 22 | Drawn: 1 | Lost: 10
Last time they met: R14, 2019 – Geelong 8.8 (56) def by Port Adelaide 9.13 (67)
Broadcast & Match Details
Friday 14 August from 7.50pm AEST.
Watch: Channel 7, Fox Footy, Kayo
Listen: K Rock Football
The Great Wall of Geelong
The Misfits have been outstanding for the Cats in recent weeks, with sides struggling to penetrate their setup behind the ball.
Across the past four games the Cats have only conceded 26 goals and recently kept St Kilda goalless for an entire half of football.
Mark O’Connor is in All Australian contention after adding Dan Butler to his impressive list of players he has done the job on this year.
Lachie Henderson has fitted in seamlessly alongside Harry Taylor in the key defensive posts, allowing Chris Scott the luxury of playing Mark Blicavs up the ground.
Throw in the attacking game of Tom Stewart and the flexibility of Jed Bews, Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij and you have a well-rounded group capable of shutting down any opposition.
What is making them so important is not only the way they can defend but rebound the ball through the middle of the ground. Something former premiership Cat Mathew Stokes highlighted on this week’s podcast.
“When we got a hold of them (St Kilda) defensively is when I thought we took control of the game,” Stokes said.
“They really held up amazingly well in the game with the quickness of St Kilda - to be able to hold up that wall and then be able to just go fast through the midfield into our forward line that gave Paddy, Hawk and Gary Rohan one-on-ones.”
Tight at the top
The Cats are in a healthy position after 11 rounds sitting third on the ladder with a sizeable percentage after their big win against St Kilda.
Only four points separates third from eighth, so a win against Port Adelaide is important as it will not only cement Geelong’s place inside the top four for another week but keep the Cats within striking distance of the Power who sit on top of the ladder.
Blast from the past
You don’t have to think far back to a time when it was all about the opposing key forwards.
Tom Hawkins and Charlie Dixon are two players you could have imagined lining up at full forward in the 80’s and 90’s and using their strength to outmuscle their opponents in the goal square.
On Friday night we should get a 2020 version of just that. Both men have been in great touch this year. Hawkins is equal leader in the Coleman Medal race with 24 goals for the season, three ahead of Dixon is in equal third.
Hawkins also leads the competition for goal assists and is number one for ground ball gets amongst key forwards this year.
Dixon is a contested beast. He is number one in the competition for contested marks, 12 ahead of the next best, averaging three per game.
