Cats hope to put out the Power

GEELONG will be hoping to respond strongly to last weekend’s nail-biting loss against the Giants when it meets Port Adelaide this afternoon (Saturday, May 17).

The two AFL sides will clash at Adelaide Oval, a ground where Geelong got the better of the Power by 84 points in their last meeting.

This past weekend, the Cats fell agonisingly short of securing the four premiership points.

The momentum ebbed and flowed through the matchup, culminating in a tense fourth quarter.

Bailey Smith was immense in the centre, finishing with 34 disposals, 12 score involvements and 10 tackles.

Max Holmes was influential with 30 possession of his own and 14 score involvement, while Mark Blicavs, Patrick Dangerfield, Jeremy Cameron and Oliver Demspey were also named in their club’s best.

Geelong was unable to stop reigning Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan, who bagged seven goals on the day.

Cats head coach Chris Scott said it was a seesawing affair against top opposition.

“There was a lot of lead changes, I thought they were really hot early so we should be in some ways proud of our performance to dominate the game after the first 20 minutes.

“That bit is disappointing but gee, I thought the quality of the opposition, especially early they were hot.”

Scott praised the Cats defensive unit for holding up the fort amid some key injuries.

“A lot of teams are finding already in a relentless season, if you lose a few key players there is a big flow on effect,” he said.

We went into the season thinking [Mark] Blicavs, Jack Henry, [Jake] Kolodjashnij and [Tom] Stewart will be the cornerstone of our defence and none of them are available, with Blicavs having to play in the ruck because [Rhys] Stanley goes out. The levers are somewhat limited.

“We are really pleased to have Connor O’Sullivan in the team, it has been good for us short term, but it is certainly going to be good for us over the longer term.”

Tomorrow’s game against the Power will be live on Foxtel and Kayo from 4.15pm.