Unsurprisingly, contested possession and pressure around the contest looms as the critical area at Simonds Stadium.
In the Cats' loss at Patersons Stadium, Fremantle was able to set the tone early. The Dockers skipped away to a 30-point lead in the first term, with a large focus its +15 contested possession advantage.
Fremantle also showed the defensive intensity in close that is needed against a side of Geelong's quality, simply overwhelming its opposition early. It was apparent in the first five minutes that no Cats’ player would be able to find an inch of free space, as illustrated below.
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Overall on the night, Fremantle was +42 in contested possession and never really challenged on the scoreboard after its first quarter burst.
The fact Geelong was not able to win with such a contested deficit would be no surprise to North coach Brad Scott. Speaking after the 87-point victory over Brisbane, he discussed the importance of finding the foot in close.
“Contested possession is still the most important statistic in football,” Scott said.
“If you can get on top in that area, you can start to dictate the way the game is being played.”
Considering both sides have been on the end of heavy contested possession deficits this year, it is appropriate to go back to the last time the teams met.
Arguably the Kangaroos’ best win of 2013, they recorded a 10-point victory over the Cats at Etihad Stadium in Round 19 of 2013.
Looking at the numbers, North comfortably won the contested possession count on that evening.
Enjoying a +23 advantage, its fearlessness around the ball was epitomised by Jack Ziebell using sheer will to beat Joel Selwood in a one-on-one contest.
This play ended up in what proved to be a match-winning goal for North.
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Geelong’s leading contested possession winner from that game won’t be taking the field on Friday night.
Steve Johnson had 12 contested possessions against North; however the pain of his loss could be eased somewhat by the return of Matthew Stokes, who also had 12 on the night.
Over the course of 2014, Selwood has led the Cats for contested possession. Through eight games, he has totalled 114, enough for fifth spot in the entire AFL. According to Brad Scott, the Geelong captain will be a tough cover for his midfield brigade.
“With the really good inside ball winners, they’re hard to stop. You need to get someone on him who can compete with him for the footy," he said of Selwood.
“Just trying to stop him is not good enough, because you’ll end up just following him all day. He’s certainly in the top few midfielders in the comp.”
