Stopping Hawkins’ supply key

FREMANTLE will use its recent history playing away to Geelong to inspire its bid for an upset victory against the Cats this afternoon.

The Dockers have won two of their past four games at GMHBA Stadium and have lost the other two matches by a combined four points.

Last year a missed shot at goal from Michael Walters in the dying seconds denied Ross Lyon’s men an improbable victory and, while the odds are again stacked against them, assistant coach Michael Prior says Fremantle will draw on its record to try to gain a mental edge over the Cats.

“I think when you come down to a place like Geelong and you know they have had a good record playing down here, when you come with a bit of form it always holds you in good stead,” Prior said.

“So the boys know that it is a place that we have played well and the games we have lost have only been by a kick.

“That should give us a little bit of confidence going in but in saying that we have got a lot of new faces that haven’t been down here and played before so we will see what transpires.

“I think it is a mental battle for the players if they let the noise factor get on top of them, which I don’t think happens to professional athletes, but you can use it as a motivating factor for you.”

Geelong must win today and next week against Gold Coast and hope results in other games go its way if it is to advance to the top eight and play finals.

The return to GMHBA Stadium is a welcome one both for the Cats and for Tom Hawkins, who has kicked 14 goals in his past two games at home.

Prior said limiting the influence of Hawkins would be a shared responsibility between Fremantle’s defensive group and its midfielders up the ground.

“They (the Cats) play the ground really well and have got (Tom) Hawkins who has been in some fine form over the last month or six weeks, but we will have our strategies down back,” he said.

“A real key thing on a narrow ground is the amount of supply that these guys get, so if we can nullify the amount of ball coming in that is going to help us.

“‘Hawk’ is a big strong man and loves to wrestle and beat his opponents in contested marking situations so that is something we have spoken about, and the pressure up the ground is going to be a huge thing, as it is every week.”