FOOTY FIX EXCLUSIVE: PATTY ON JOEL
FOOTBALLERS rarely get a chance to sit back and marvel.
But Patrick Dangerfield found himself doing just that during the last quarter of Geelong’s win over St Kilda.
It was almost impossible not to be in awe of Joel Selwood’s second half — 30 disposals, 14 of those contested. He went at 76.6 per cent efficiency, laid five tackles, had five clearances and took seven marks.
It was as close to perfect as humanly possible.
“It’s really hard sometimes to appreciate players are playing. It was one of the few games that I can remember where mid-quarter I looked up at the scoreboard at one point in the third and just appreciated how well he was playing,” Dangerfield said.
“It was one of those few games where you think, ‘Wow, he is truly dominating this game’.”
The Cats obviously wouldn’t turn down a repeat performance from Selwood against Collingwood on Sunday.
But Dangerfield is more than confident Geelong’s midfield bats deep enough to contain the Magpies without Selwood hitting beast mode.
“They’ve got quality right through their midfield, but at the same time I think we do as well,” Dangerfield said.
“I think we have been able to show that through the first five rounds of the year. Our success has been built on the back of even performances.
“There has been a few outliers in terms of that and Joel put in one of the all-time great individual performances on the weekend, but there was some other great performances too.”
Stats show Geelong has moved the ball differently in 2017 compared with 2016, especially in the midfield.
No Cat has kicked the ball more than they have handballed.
Geelong also exits stoppages by hand 65 per cent of the time — more than any other side in the competition. Dangerfield said there was no concrete rule in terms of the way Geelong moved the ball but instead it had stemmed from a fluidity in the way it played.
“You can look at many different statistics these days and make up a story out of anything,” Dangerfield said.
“The thing we have focused on as a group is just taking what the game is giving us.
“If that means handballing it out of stoppages more, then we will do it.
“But if there are times where we can kick forward and give our forwards one-onone opportunities, then we will take that. It’s about taking what the game gives you, rather than going into every game going, ‘We are going to handball more this week because that is going to enable us to win’.
“That’s not necessarily the case. We are certainly not arrogant enough to think that one style of play is going to work at all stages throughout a game.
“We have to remain flexible and adapt and change our game plan if we need to.”
‘Joel put in one of the all-time great individual performances on the weekend’ — PATRICK DANGERFIELD