Star Geelong midfielder Patrick Dangerfield will play his 200th game tonight.
Dangerfield played 154 games for the Adelaide Crows and has lined up for the Cats 45 times.
The Cats take on Richmond at the MCG in a qualifying final. The winner will progress straight to the preliminary final while the loser will host the winner of tomorrow’s Sydney vs Essendon game.
A blockbuster crowd of around 95,000 is expected for tonight’s game, which starts at 7.50pm.
Geelong has won its last 13 games against the Tigers including a 14-point win in round 21 at Simonds Stadium. The Cats were missing a host of stars for that clash, but still found a way to win.
Dangerfield has never played in a grand final.
“After you have been in the system a number of years then you realise there are only so many opportunities that you might get at it, so when you do have them you have got to make sure that you grab them with both hands,” Dangerfield said.
Most footy followers are hoping for a direct match-up between the game’s best two players – Dangerfield and Tiger star Dustin Martin.
“The challenge for us as a side is to nullify his impact,“ Dangerfield said of Martin.
“He’s one player and they have 21 others who will take to the field Friday night and that has been the reason for their success this year. It hasn’t just been one player so we have to be very wary of the other players they have in their side.“
Geelong coach Chris Scott declared skipper Joel Selwood a certain starter after sustaining an ankle injury in round 20 that required surgery.
Scott confirmed Selwood would take the field against the Tigers in the sell-out blockbuster at the MCG, barring a late setback.
“I’m really confident now. I’m happy to say this for the first time that he’ll play,“ Scott told Fox Footy on Monday night.
“(We were) really confident last week without being sure. (We) wanted to see a little bit of the match practice on Saturday and then the big test was how he pulled up.
“We trained again today and he just looked normal to us.
“He’ll play unless something drastic happens that no one is predicting.”
V/Line is running two special services from Waurn Ponds to Richmond station for the game. There is a 4.50pm and 5.28pm from Waurn Ponds, which gets to Richmond at 6.14pm and 6.58pm respectively.
Similarly, V/Line trains to Waurn Ponds leave Richmond station after the game at 10.48pm, 10.59pm and 11.10pm.
