SILENCE OF THE HAMS
IN a bizarre claim worthy of an April Fool’s Day prank, Josh Jenkins yesterday claimed Harry Taylor shook his hand with a slice of ham in it at the conclusion of Friday night’s AFL match between the Crows and Cats. Geelong refused to comment on the allegation yesterday that Taylor may have acted ham over fist. Jenkins had been ill prior to last week’s match after he ate a dodgy piece of ham while in Melbourne.
GEELONG captain Joel Selwood is confident his players will respond with purpose against Carlton on Saturday night after being “touched up” by a physical Adelaide last week.
Selwood last night predicted a swift bounce-back after the Cats were outpointed in the 21-point loss.
“(The review) was pretty measured, like always, we had things that we wanted to do better throughout the game,” he said.
“Obviously around the ball, we were not up to a standard we thought (was good enough), especially when you’re playing against the top team.
“From there, there were little things. Even the fundamentals of the game, dropped marks, giving them chances and you can’t give good sides those chances.
“I think they did it (physical pressure) to all of us. I think they were a lot tougher over the ground and I heard (Port Adelaide coach) Ken Hinkley said the same thing — that Melbourne did it to his team.
“So that’s just modern football. If you’re not on and the other side is, it looks like that can be the case.”
Selwood revealed he was barely able to train last week after coming down with illness, but said he “actually felt OK” by game day.
The captain pointed to Carlton’s defensive strengths in slowing down opposition scoring, having conceded only 70 against Greater Western Sydney, 84 against Richmond, 89 against Adelaide and 90 against Melbourne in recent weeks.
“They have quite a good game plan where they don’t get scored against overly heavily against sides that are up the top of the ladder,” Selwood said.
“We’re not expecting it to be an easy game, they’ve got a huge amount of talent.”
Geelong’s three sides will be in action on Saturday as part of a triple-header in Melbourne.
The Cats’ VFLW side takes on Darebin at 10am at IKON Park, followed by a VFL clash against the Northern Blues at 1pm, then the AFL clash at Etihad Stadium that night.
“Big week for the club,” Selwood said. “The girls have been fantastic with how they’ve taken to the competition and it’s been great to be part of a footy club where all three teams have been able to work throughout the facility.”