Cats loading up the bus

PERHAPS there was a discussion in Geelong’s selection meeting this week about the classic soccer tactic of parking the bus.

Used traditionally when teams are clinging to a lead, the bus is parked when a team sends extra players to defence to crowd opposition attacks.

In football parlance that is commonly known as flooding and that may be the only way Geelong can find room for nine defenders in its team against Fremantle.

The Cats made seven changes to its side this week with six of them forced by injury or, in Gary Ablett’s case, family reasons.

The seventh was to manage Jack Steven, which while likely to be a nod to Geelong’s run of fitting in its next five games in 19 days, is a cause for concern off an 11-day break.

Of those seven players to leave Geelong’s team, none were defenders, yet two more were added to the side — Tom Stewart returning from injury and Lachie Henderson perplexingly named on the bench.

That gives defensive coach Matthew Scarlett an embarrassment of riches with almost half the team made up of players who normally play in the back half.

The Dockers have dangerous tall forwards in Rory Lobb and Matt Taberner, but neither are exactly stars.

So with Harry Taylor, Mark Blicavs, Jake Kolodjashnij and Henderson all in the hoops as defenders who generally play tall, it’s hard to see what their roles are.

While most fans have heard enough about “roles” from football clubs in recent years, part of Geelong’s success last year was its willingness to select players to fill a job, instead of picking the best 22 players available.

That seems impossible to square with the Henderson decision.

While he last played for the Cats as a forward in last year’s preliminary final, Henderson is a defender and has been in strong form in defence at training and in scratch matches this year.

Will we see him or Taylor sent forward?

Or will Blicavs been squandered from the back half to play in the ruck?

Taking the star big man out of defence has sent a slight shudder through Cats fans since that preliminary final.

Zach Tuohy has spent more time up on the wing this year than in previous seasons and may be forced to do so permanently against Fremantle.

With ruckman Darcy Fort on the sidelines because of a sore foot, Esava Ratugolea will likely spend most of his evening in the centre as a ruckman.

Ratugolea has had good and bad moments in the ruck this season and provides a spark when he is in there with his follow up work and big leap.

There are no other options on the list aside from Blicavs to man the centre circle with Fort and Rhys Stanley injured. It’s worth seeing what Ratugolea can provide when given the responsibility in the ruck.

Moving him into the middle leaves a hole up forward for a second tall to stand alongside Tom Hawkins.

Seeing that void filled by defenders must act as a slap in the face to Nathan Kreuger.

The talented second-year Cat has the athleticism and skills to slip into that role, and against an undersized Docker defence there would never be a better time to give him a debut.

Kreuger has kicked goals in the scratch matches this year and the 196cm-left-footer can provide a chop out for Ratugolea in the middle.

He would have acted as the perfect player to fit a need.

Instead, his magnet rests with the emergencies on the coach’s board.

With changes coming elsewhere, the Cats seemed to have gone like for like.

Charlie Constable can slot into Joel Selwood’s role as an inside midfielder and Brad Close is a perfect fit to replace Luke Dahlhaus.

But up the other end, Geelong doesn’t appear to have enough room to fit it’s busload of defenders.