Cats up hype on Hawks’ threat

GEELONG coach Chris Scott has not missed the recent resurgence of Hawthorn and knows that only means another epic contest is on the cards between the fierce rivals at the MCG this Saturday.

The Hawks may have escaped Launceston with just a draw against GWS on Saturday, but showed enough to suggest that Alastair Clarkson’s men are way better than their lowly ladder position.

While the Cats destroyed the Hawks by 86 points in Round 4 this season, it was a rare blowout in a rivalry that has been fierce for 10 years and, given the clash is also Hawthorn star Luke Hodge’s 300th game, Scott knows his team is in for a hard day.

“Geelong will never lose respect for Hawthorn and never disregard the challenge they can pose,” Scott said after his side’s 85-point demolition of Brisbane on Saturday night.

“Look at Hawthorn’s last month or so and if you do that you’d think it would be a pretty good game. It appears to us they’ve made some tweaks. They’ve brought in some youth and some of their better players, who weren’t at their best at the start of the season, have performed better.”

“Generally if they control the ball well they’re really in the game.”

Scott also found extra praise for the effort of Brownlow Medal favourite Patrick Dangerfield, who starred against the Lions despite an interrupted week.

While the bulk of the Geelong group trained in Brisbane all last week, Dangerfield was in Geelong where his first child, a son, George, was born.

But the superstar showed little signs of weariness, racking up 38 disposals and kicking three goals in yet another allround performance.

“It’s been a great week for him and we didn’t have any doubt he would handle it as a professional,” Scott said. “More of a challenge to come up in really good shape for Paddy, obviously. He performed the way we suspected he would.”