By Natalee Kerr
Geelong coach Chris Scott said he is “alert but not alarmed” by his side’s form in recent weeks.
Scott shrugged off suggestions Geelong were facing a slump after losing two of the last three games following the mid-season bye.
“The season was always going to be one of ebbs and flows,” he said.
“We’d like to be playing better, but I don’t think we’re going that badly.”
Scott said the team had been focussing on playing a “sustainable” style of football.
“Historically the really good teams have a system that stands up irrespective of what the opposition are trying to do.”
Geelong suffered a shock 16-point loss to Western Bulldogs last Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.
Despite being a man down with defender Jake Kolojashnij receiving a concussion in the first quarter, the Cats lead for most of the match.
Geelong was 10 points up at three-quarter time, until the Dogs hit the front for the first time at the 11-minute mark in the last quarter.
Scott said his team, the league’s highest-scoring side, uncharacteristically struggled to convert in front of goal.
“We didn’t score very well, we scored 50-odd points which is very unusual for us,” he said.
Following the loss, the ladder-leaders have a one-game buffer ahead of second-placed West Coast.
The Cats will now turn their focus to host St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.
St Kilda have struggled with poor form in recent weeks, with a 39-point loss to the Kangaroos last Sunday their third in a row.
But Scott said the Saints “pressure well” and at their best are a “competitive” team.
“Some fundamental parts of their game are pretty strong,” Scott said.
The clash will have extra significance for Geelong, who will wear orange-branded socks in support of the Just Think campaign against alcohol-fuelled violence.
With seven games remaining in the home-and-away season, superstar Patrick Dangerfield said the group remains level-headed approaching the latter end of the year.
“Whether you’re winning games of footy or losing, you take the emotion out of the result,” he told the media this week.
“You can’t afford to look too far ahead, our focus has always remained narrow. We won’t take any opposition lightly.”
