Defence the best response to attack

Cats back veteran to tame Dixon

AS LUG F ES T could be on the cards on Thursday night after Joel Selwood forecast that his Geelong side would be willing to roll back hard defensively to stop Port Adelaide’ s attack.

The two sides that will meet at Adelaide Oval were ranked first and second in points scored this year and played some of the most attractive football at times in 2020.

But Selwood said finals could be a different game, as the Cats attempt to help out veteran Harry Taylor in his assignment on Power strong man Charlie Dixon, pictured.

Dixon had no influence when the two sides met earlier this year and was only able to take one mark.

“We have always built a lot of our game on defence, not just this year but over previous years we have been in the top bracket for team defence,” Selwood said.

“We understand finals are not sometimes the most attractive games and playing hard defence is a big part of it, and there is no better person than Harry to prepare for a matchup like Dixon.”

The final will not only be a meeting between two strong offensive teams but will also present a battle of strength in the midfield. Geelong’s core group of inside players in Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie and Brandan Parfitt did a number on Port Adelaide in that Round 12 win.

However, Travis Boak, Ollie Wines and Tom Rockliff are in form ahead of the finals and the Power trio collected 74 possessions between them in their last outing against Collingwood.

The Cats will hold one final meeting on Wednesday afterno onto do their homework on the Power bulls.

“They have been good all year to be honest; they sit at the top of the table and they thoroughly deserve it,” Selwood said.

“We understand that they have been a great midfield, they are also great down forward and back too. It’s a huge challenge ahead in there .”