JOEL FIT AND FIRED UP
I’M READY FOR BATTLE:
GEELONG skipper Joel Selwood has declared he is “ready to fire” ahead of his 13th finals campaign in 14 AFL seasons.
Selwood said he had shaken off any worries about his sore right knee, which saw him sit out four matches in the back end of the season.
The skipper played almost exclusively in the midfield in his first game back against Sydney in Round 18 and collected 16 touches in a crucial role in the tight win.
“It felt good, it has been feeling good for a long period now,” Selwood said of his knee.
“It was just the way that we decided, we set a plan out and we stuck to it. I’m in a position right now where I want to be and I’m really fit and ready to fire for a finals series.”
The captain will be one of several stars in what promises to be a battle of the midfield bulls when Geelong attempts to shut down a big-bodied Port Adelaide group on Thursday.
The Cats thumped the Power in the contested possession count by 23 when the two sides met in Round 12, which set up a 60-point win.
The powerful midfield of the minor premier, led by Travis Boak, Tom Rockliff and Ollie Wines, has Port Adelaide as the best contested ball side of the season.
But Geelong ranks third in that count and with a plethora of stars on the inside itself, such as Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie, Selwood is eyeing off a repeat performance. “We think (Port Adelaide) are really strong through that part of the ground, we will have to be really good in there,” Selwood said.
“They do have a lot of powerful players through there, we will be having to mix it with them.
“That’s the challenge ahead, to get on top of them in that part of the ground and give our forwards some good use.
“We were able to do that last time and give (Tom Hawkins) some good looks at it but I’m sure they will play a little bit different and we will be ready for that.”
Rockliff said his side was eager to respond after a poor showing last time against the Cats.
“I feel like as a midfield group we’re all playing our roles really well, we’ve had patches and been spoken about individually, but collectively as a unit we’re pretty well set at the moment,” he said.
“It’s going to be a huge battle against Geelong and one that they probably got on top a little bit (last time) and other areas they beat us up badly on the Gold Coast so it will be a great challenge as a midfield group.”
The -23 contested possession differential in that game back in August was clearly the worst Power performance in that statistic this season.
In two of the three games Port Adelaide has lost that count in 2020, it has also lost the match.
Fresh off receiving his first All-Australian blazer last week, Guthrie said he was keen to mix it in the middle with the Power.
“I think that has been a strength of ours all year and probably past years,” he said.
“We were really efficient going forward and put the score on the board and the pressure on (the Power). We recognise that they have got some really good midfielders in there but all over the ground they are a really solid team.”