Cats suffering no ill effects of past prelims

AFL: Don’t mention the word ‘preliminitis’ around Geelong utility Brandan Parfitt this week.

The 21-year-old will play in his second AFL preliminary final tonight in a bid to get his Cats into their first grand final since 2011.

Part of the Geelong side thrashed by Adelaide in the 2017 preliminary final, Parfitt knows it will take a superhuman effort from all of his teammates if they are going to get over premiership favourites Richmond and grab a berth in next week’s big dance.

Geelong have lost their past three preliminary finals, crashing to defeat in 2013, ’16 and Parfitt’s ’17 side, despite healthy win-loss records in the homeand-away season.

And they will have to beat a snarling Tigers side chasing an 11th straight win without the suspended Tom Hawkins in front of goals.

But Parfitt, who will play his 54th game in a Geelong jumper tonight, said the players were ready to throw everything bar the Barwon River at Richmond.

“We’re pretty confident after beating West Coast last week, we played the brand of footy we planned pre-match and executed it well,” he said.

“Tommy Hawkins is a big loss, he’s a big leader and a big focal point up forward but it means everyone has to step up and take over the heavy work.

“There will be a bit of pressure on big ‘Sav’ (centre halfforward Esava Ratugolea) and I’m not too sure who will take Tom’s spot, but whoever it is will play their role.”

Asked if ‘preliminitis’ had set in at Geelong after the disappointment of falling one game short of a grand final three times since the 2011 premiership, Parfitt said the diagnosis had come up negative.

“It’s a different team compared to those losing prelims, I think you’ll see the best of Geelong this week with the excitement among the players this week and the positive vibe at training,’’ he said.