OUR BEST IS ENOUGH

Dangerfield respects Crows, but still says Geelong has the edge

GEELONG star and former Crow Patrick Dangerfield says Adelaide is the best team in the AFL and has been all season.

And the Crows run a lot deeper than star midfielder Rory Sloane, who starred in their last meeting — a 21-point Round 18 win.

What’s more, the 50,000-strong Adelaide Oval crowd will take some quietening.

But Dangerfield still thinks Geelong can win tonight’s preliminary final and, with it, a place in the Grand Final.

“Our best is good enough,” Dangerfield declared yesterday at Melbourne airport.

Having never played in a Grand Final, the Brownlow medallist says the battle of the season’s top-two finishers is the biggest game of his career. Dismissing pre-game digs from Josh Jenkins and other ex-teammates as “tongue in cheek”, Dangerfield made clear his respect for Adelaide.

“They’ve been the best side all year and play a really strong brand of footy,” he said.

“Adelaide are far more than just Rory Sloane. We understand that he’s a gun of the comp.

“So is Matt Crouch, who was All Australian this year. And there’s many others.

“Tommy Lynch has had a really good season. They’ve got so many attacking weapons off half-back.

“[Against Adelaide in Round 18] the scoreboard flattered us. But I think we’ve been really competitive against the best sides and we showed that on the weekend.”

Geelong’s defeat last week of Sydney erased any lingering doubts over whether the Cats belonged in the top four.

Dangerfield was deployed in the forward line in their semi-final, unsettling the favoured Swans with a dominant first-half performance.

He wasn’t giving anything away as to his positioning against the Crows, saying he would take advice from coach Chris Scott.

“I don’t think it’s going to be back pocket,” he said.

“It’ll be midfield and forward depending on the flow of the game.”

The 27-year-old has already returned to Adelaide Oval twice in Geelong colours, which he suggests will prepare him for the inevitable onslaught from the 50,000strong crowd.

As many have suggested previously in finals, Dangerfield says the start will be key.

“You can’t look too far ahead. It’s simple. It’s the first five minutes,” he said.

“We need to make sure we bring the intensity that finals warrant. We go in with real confidence because I think we’re a pretty good side.

“Nothing I can say really matters all that much ... it all comes down to actions.”