GEELONG’s defensive stopper Mark O’Connor has added another string to his bow after moving into the midfield to mind Lachie Neale against the Lions.

O’Connor was tasked with unenviable job of going head-to-head with the reigning Brownlow medallist, following him into the centre bounces and trailing the football magnet wherever he roamed at GMHBA Stadium.

Neale managed just 16 disposals for the night, having dropped under that mark on only two occasions in the previous five seasons.

Cats midfield coach Matthew Knights says O’Connor’s performance was a critical one for the outcome of the match.

“Giving him the task was a big one, there’s not many bigger tasks than the Brownlow medallist but we thought he did a wonderful job,” Knights says.

“It was a pretty quick turnaround for Merrick (Mark O’Connor) but he adjusted really well. He did his fair share of centre bounces and stoppages around the ground.

“He handled himself really well, got his starting points pretty much right most of the time, when you’re playing on good players that can be thrown about.”

With the Cats missing trusted midfielders Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola, Knights was unable to spare his trusted midfielders for a lockdown role.

“It was just something a little bit different. Cam Guthrie has done those roles in the past, Mitch Duncan as well, we felt we wanted Cam Guthrie to just really get after the ball with our other mids.

“We thought it was a good opportunity for Merrick to see how he would go in the role.”

O’Connor’s defensive experience and aerobic endurance meant he was the first port of call to get the job done.

“We were confident he’d do a good job on the ground because he’s played on dangerous small forwards a lot in the last two or three years,” Knights says.

“His running capacity is a big plus to be able to run with those really talented mids from other teams because they do usually have really good motors and endurance bases,” Knights says.

“Merrick’s got that (endurance base) which is credit to him so he’s got a couple of good assets that allow him to play on good players.”

O’Connor didn’t just limit himself to a negating role on Neale, also managing to gather 15 disposals, five clearances and impact the scoreboard with four score involvements.

“I found that he gave us a bit at the stoppages as well, he kicked a lovely ball inside 50 to Tom Hawkins early and got involved in a couple of nice handball chains,” Knights says.

“If he can do that as well as stop an opposition player it’s a great tonic for us.

“It’s important that run with players do (provide offensive impact), that’s what Cam Guthrie and Mitch Duncan and guys like that have been able to do.

“When you’ve only got a certain amount of midfield players in there, everyone does have to carry the load with their clearances and their tackles.”

Knights will have to knock on the door of defensive line coach Mathew Scarlett if he wants to utilise the Irish stopper again.

“It was a good negotiation with Scarlo, it was a match committee decision to give him an opportunity to do it,” Knights says.

“A part of that is that he had to come out of the back half, which is always a bit of a give and take situation but on the whole the match committee thought it was a positive move to make.

“Thankfully and most importantly Merrick was able to back it up with his performance and he did the job so great credit to him.”