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Geelong and Fremantle will relive their Elimination Final from last year on Saturday night at Simonds Stadium. Join our live blog with scores and commentary from 7.40pm AEST.
Second versus third on the ladder promises to be a fascinating match-up, with statistically the best defence coming up against the second-highest scoring team.
Chris Scott’s team will be furious after conceding a 52-point lead against Brisbane to lose after the siren, and the pride of players such as Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey and Corey Enright will ensure such an effort won’t be repeated.
In hindsight the collapse could turn out to be the wake-up call the Cats needed, not having as yet put together a four-quarter performance.
However the task will be made harder after Steve Johnson was hit with a suspension and will subsequently miss this week.
On the other hand, Ross Lyon has transformed the Dockers in to a team capable of competing with anyone, anywhere.
Despite still missing a host of names including Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands, the Dockers have proven so frugal that they are never out of the game, which helped them keep in touch with the Swans when they travelled to the SCG for a draw.
Their latest effort in holding North Melbourne to a measly 29 points embarrassed a team that has shown it can score heavily.
Geelong poses a much greater threat though, and the 67 points Fremantle scored last round surely won’t be enough for the Cats at their home ground.
While Michael Walters only kicked one goal in his return, Lyon will be hoping the gun small forward will be better for the run.
Along with Chris Mayne and Hayden Ballantyne, Fremantle’s small forwards could cause problems for Geelong’s backline.
Ultimately though, the game will come down to Geelong’s ability to break through the Dockers’ team defence.
The Cats have changed since they had more handballs than kicks and were taken advantage of by strong forward pressing teams in 2010, but have since shown vulnerability if not totally on their game, with specific reference to last year’s finals loss to Fremantle.
Lyon’s team will undoubtedly bring their trademark intensity, so it will be up to Geelong to lift their standard of play if they are to get the win.
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