Top Cat looks set to face Hawthorn

GEELONG midfield star Patrick Dangerfield has stopped short of declaring himself a certain starter for the Easter Monday clash against in-form Hawthorn at the MCG.

Dangerfield missed the Cats’ opening-round win over Melbourne with a low-grade hamstring strain but is expected to recover in time to take on the Hawks.

“It’s all positive so far, to be honest,” he said on yesterday.

“I need to complete the main [training] sessions, run fast and kick long, just basically replicate everything you do in a game.”

Dangerfield was disappointed to miss last Sunday’s nailbiting win over the Demons, especially because it marked Gary Ablett’s first game back after seven years on the Gold Coast and skipper Joel Selwood’s 250th match.

“I felt pretty good, but just taking a risk having only completed one main session, it’s just not worth it,” he said.

“Especially at this time of year when there’s so much footy to be played. The boys got the job done in the end so it was a good decision.”

The Cats smashed Hawthorn by 86 points in the corresponding Easter Monday fixture last year but are expecting a much tougher challenge this time around.

“They’ve been really good around the ball, which hasn’t always been a trademark of theirs,” Dangerfield said. “You talk about how good they are as a kicking side but they’ve been really good around the ball right throughout the JLT Series and Round 1.”

Curbing the influence of the Hawks’ prime mover Tom Mitchell — who amassed 54 possessions in the openinground win over Collingwood — will be a major focus.

Geelong coach Chris Scott said: “There’s been a bit of a knock on him over the years that he’s not that penetrating, he [just] racks it up in tight. He did it all on the weekend ... he did it inside, did it outside.”