The Cats will face the top-placed Giants in a Saturday night blockbuster, which promises to be a high-scoring affair.
The Giants are ranked third in the AFL for points scored per game, averaging 103, while the Cats are fifth with 100 points.
The hero of the final quarter in Sunday’s ugly clash against Fremantle, James Parsons, said the cats would need to bring their best.
“They’re going to be a tough team to place to play against.”
Geelong played poorly in blustery conditions for most of the game, but staged yet another amazing last-quarter comeback with Parsons kicking two vital goals.
“When we’re down, we try to go back to fundamentals,” he said.
The Cats got the ball into the 50, the “big boys” contested and “us small boys” got to the fall of it during the final term, Parsons said.
Cats coach Chris Scott will hope his side can complete the same fundamentals for four quarters against the Giants – unlike previous games.
Scott said the conditions didn’t excuse the Cats close-quarters fumbling and skill errors, but the win showed the side’s character.
Geelong lost captain Joel Selwood in the first minute through a sickening head clash.
“It was a day where a lot of things went wrong for us,” Scott said.
He was especially pleased with Patrick Dangerfield, who played brilliant despite not having his star comrade in support.
“He’s one who embraces those sort of situations,” he said.
“When things were going against us, we just found a way to just stay in the game.
Dangerfield could again be the key on Saturday. Last time against the Giants he shone with 32 disposals and 11 inside 50s and the Cats dominated forward entry.
Both sides have been strong in clearances in 2017; the Giants are ranked first, averaging 42.2 per game, ahead of the Cats, who are fifth, with 38.6.
The Cats last quarter was typical for the season. They have scored 126 points more than their opposition in the opening 10 minutes in their final quarter combined.
Next week the Cats will embrace warmer climates before facing Brisbane Lions, training in Queensland thanks to a fixture anomaly.
Rather than flying back to Victoria, the Cats will head to the Gold Coast to complete their training week at Broadbeach.
Geelong general manager of football, Steve Hocking, expected the team to get multiple benefits out of the week in Broadbeach.
“It isn’t an ideal scenario to have back-to-back interstate games due to the amount of time that travelling takes up in the schedule,” Hocking said.
“Combine that with the current climate back home in Geelong and where we are at in the home and away season, it makes sense to change up the normal routine to take advantage of the fixturing.”
South-east Queensland Cats supporters will also benefit with the club holding an open training session at Broadbeach Football Club on Thursday, 6 July.
