By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
It’s not just the media’s lauding of dynamic Geelong duo Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield that irks coach Chris Scott.
Opposition players single them out as well in preparation for meeting the Cats.
West Coast Eagles defender Sam Butler nominated the challenge presented by the pair on Saturday afternoon as one to embrace.
Butler said he was excited to see the midfield juggernauts firsthand.
“They are great at winning their own ball, which is a great thing about those two, and they’re great players to watch – I enjoy watching them too,” Butler said.
“We’ll get up close and personal this week.”
Geelong’s midfield will get firsthand knowledge about West Coast from its former vice-captain and recruit Scott Selwood, who was an integral part of the Eagles engine room.
Selwood is still on Geelong’s long-term injury list but his information on West Coast will be a help this week.
The Eagles will arrive at Simonds Stadium determined to end their run of away losses despite a six day break.
West Coast has beaten Brisbane, Fremantle, Richmond and Collingwood at home so far, while suffering away losses to Hawthorn and Sydney.
Late last season West Coast went down to Adelaide and of course lost the grand final to Hawthorn.
Coach Adam Simpson said meeting Geelong on its home ground was “a great challenge, it’s good for us. We’re excited by it”.
Simpson admitted the team had made some changes to its away game preparation to no avail.
“How do you look at it when you’re in front halfway through the third quarter against Sydney? Do you put it down to how you prepare? I’m not quite sure.
“It’s probably mindset and the fact we’re playing bloody good sides away from home.
“So until we win, I’ve just got to cop these questions.”
Add to that the fact that the Eagles have not beaten Geelong at Simonds Stadium for a decade, and the task clear.
But Butler said playing at Simonds Stadium should hold West Coast in good stead, being a long and narrow ground similar to Domain Stadium.
“You don’t want a team to have the wood over you for that long,” he said.
“It’s a big game for our season going forward. Like the week just gone we will attack the game playing the best football we possibly can.”
Meanwhile Scott has the luxury of mixing and matching players as he develops depth in the squad by sharing game time around.
“We’re a long way from being settled on what our best 22 is. In fact, we don’t really have a best 22,” Scott said.
“We pick the best team we can each week and try to work on getting a big group of players who can contribute throughout the year.
The Cats have used 27 players during the first six rounds of the season while still “managing” players.
