By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Geelong not only regained its second spot on the ladder but its percentage advantage with the important 31-point win over North Melbourne last weekend.
With Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn joining the Cats on nine wins, percentage could be the deciding factor in the top-four pecking order.
But the pressure to perform remains with another game of the round clash with the Western Bulldogs performing above and beyond expectations.
This is especially so since the side has been dogged by injuries this year with busy midfielder Luke Dalhaus also missing due to a knee strain.
Hulking forward Tom Hawkins will be back, the strategy of accepting the one-week ban now vindicated.
The game will reveal much about both sides given Geelong’s scoring abilities versus the Bulldogs top-rated defence.
But coach Chris Scott repeated his attacking philosophy despite his defensive instincts.
“We aim to score. We think that balance between attack and defence is really important. If you can’t score, I don’t think you can be really successful in September,” Scott told AFL 306.
“But I’ve got a defensive bias as a coach and we probably value that, if there was a contest, a little more than the offensive side.
“But they are so inextricably linked these days. You can’t have one without the other. I think 10 years ago you could just be a really defensive team.
“But now if you don’t attack well it’s hard to defend from that turnover.”
Scott said the successive losses to Collingwood and Carlton had proved valuable despite the pain of losing.
“I don’t like the idea of having to lose to learn a lesson, you prefer to keep winning,” Scott said.
“But it’s a really good lesson for some of our players to have a good look at the way we were playing in some of our areas a fortnight ago to what we’re delivering now.
“Even though you go through the theory a lot, sometimes you just have to feel it.
“Some of the things we have spoken about, it’s really validating for when they see the evidence against good teams.
“We’ve played GWS and North the last couple of weeks and just played so much better.
“So it’s coaching those things, but the players sometimes need to actually get out there and deliver it before they truly understand the coaching points. You need the evidence.”
The Western Bulldogs will be keen to reverse the trend of losses to Geelong over the last eight years.
The Cats are the best centre clearance side this season, averaging 14.6 per game as against the Bulldogs at 13.2 per game.
Geelong is also the top ranked side for contested marks and marks inside 50, averaging 104 points a game while the Bulldogs are the number one ranked defence this season, giving up only 71 points a game.
