Cats are confident of history repeating

Melbourne: Gun midfielder Mitch Duncan says Geelong will draw on last year’s experience as they seek to claw their way back from a qualifying final loss to another grand final.

The Cats suffered a 43-point hammering from Port Adelaide on Friday night – their eighth defeat in nine matches in the opening week of the finals over the last decade.

It was a similar story last season, when a loss to the Power in Adelaide left Chris Scott’s men facing a tough road to the flag.

Sudden-death wins over Collingwood and Brisbane got the Cats through to the 2020 decider, where they ultimately fell short against Richmond.

This year, Sydney or GWS will present the hurdle in a knockout semi-final to be played on neutral turf at Perth’s Optus Stadium next week.

“We’re in exactly the same position we were last year, so we look forward with great optimism,” Duncan said.

“We’ve just got to win three more games of footy and then we get what we want.

“We start next week and work hard, then who knows what can happen.

“I’ve got great confidence in the group to be able to play our best footy, and when we do that we’re a very hard team to beat.”

Duncan made his comeback against Port after 10 weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury and had 33 disposals – 10 more than any other Geelong player – in a strong return.