Jake wary of in-form Suns guns

GEELONG’S Tasmanian defender Jake Kolodjashnij says it will take a finals-like performance to beat the red-hot Suns at Kardinia Park on Saturday to mark the milestone games of Cats champions Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett.

GEELONG defender Jake Kolodjashnij says it will take a finals-like performance to beat the red-hot Suns at Kardinia Park on Saturday to mark the milestone games of Cats champions Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett.

The Geelong skipper and magical Ablett will rack up 650 AFL games between them in a rare major milestone double.

Kolodjashnij, a 24-year-old Tasmanian, said “don’t ask” him to decide which Cat is better. “You can’t give me that one – I honestly couldn’t split them,” he said.

“I’ve played with Selwood the longest and he’s an amazing player the way he goes about it, and Gaz is one of the best of all time so I couldn’t pick between them.

“It’s a big week for the club and I’m super-confident to have the opportunity to play with those guys in their milestone games.

“They are legends of the game and the Geelong footy club.

“The Suns are in hot form. They’ve won three out of four, so we’ve got to treat it like a finals game and bring our best to beat them.”

Geelong sits inside the top eight in sixth spot, while the Gold Coast Suns are second with only a loss to Port Adelaide in Round 1 to blemish their record.

A date with the Cats in Geelong may not be the killer road trip of previous years.

Carlton upset the home side there in Round 3 and Melbourne came within three points of a boilover last weekend.

Kolodjashnij said don’t read anything into it — Kardinia Park is still their fortress.

“A lot of the teams that come down are quite intimidated,” he said.

“We’ve had a great run there. We’ve got a great record and we play the ground quite well. It gives you extra confidence going into games because of our record and that we know the ground, so it’s a great opportunity to get another win on the board.”

It has been seven years since Kolodjashnij was snapped up from the Tassie Mariners under-18s as pick 41 in the national draft to now be a key defender at one of the AFL’s powerhouse clubs.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” he said. “There have been a lot of lessons learned along the way and I’ve still got a lot of lessons to learn.

“I’m just loving every moment being able to represent the Geelong footy club.”

Saturday’s game starts at 4.35pm.

JAMES BRESNEHAN