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LIONS RETURN TO NATURAL HABITAT
GEELONG defender Tom Stewart says the Cats must treat Brisbane with respect, acknowledging the Lions’ form is far superior to their ladder position.
The Cats kept their finals hopes alive with a dramatic after-thesiren win over Melbourne last Saturday, but Geelong is seen to be vulnerable in matches against teams it should beat.
The in-form Lions loom as a potential banana skin for the Cats, with the 16th-placed team winning three of their past four matches.
Geelong remains in touch with the top eight, but could very easily lose touch with the leading pack with a loss to the Lions today at GMHBA Stadium.
Stewart said there was no room for Geelong to get lazy in the run home to finals.
“We are taking it one week at a time. You only have to look back to last week and see that any team can win on their day,” Stewart said.
“We’ve got to take Brisbane with a lot of respect and not treat them lightly. The ladder position doesn’t suggest the form they are in at the moment.
“We have got to go in to the game with the same mindset we had last week and that’s just to play our role as individuals, get the job done and get the win.”
Stewart is likely to play on one of Brisbane’s crafty smalls, given Mark Blicavs and Lachie Henderson will take the two key position posts.
The 25-year-old said Brisbane offered plenty of bite in attack.
“The way they are playing their footy at the moment, it’s good to see. They’re a young team that is taking the game on and attacking well,” he said.
“They’ve got some players with attacking flair. We’ve got to be mindful of them and try our best to shut them.
“Cam Rayner is a No.1 draft pick for a reason, Allen Christensen is creative, Lewy Taylor, Hugh McCluggage — you can go through a lot of names there and it’s going to be good to come up against them.
“I haven’t gone in with any match-up. We generally have Blitz and Hendo play roles and the rest mix and match, so we will see what they come up with and go from there.
“I will try come off and try and help as much as I can in the air and get the ball to ground like I have been.”