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GEELONG CATS vs HAWTHORN HAWKS: How \u2018smart\u2019 Hawks can take this away<\/p>\n
Geelong may have wood over Hawthorn in recent times, with the Hawks unable to defeat the Cats since 2022.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve also coughed up triple figures in three of their past four meetings in worrying signs for Hawthorn\u2019s backline.<\/p>\n
But that was before Tom Barrass.<\/p>\n
The Hawthorn recruit looms as a key to this contest \u2013 as does the \u201csmart\u201d Hawks forwards who are cashing in on turnover ball in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to be top three turnover differential to win flags,\u201d Leigh Montagna said on First Crack Preview.<\/p>\n
And stats show that in the 2025 finals series, Hawthorn are ranked the AFL\u2019s best with an average of 65.5 points from turnover.<\/p>\n
Stanley emergency: Scott mind games? | 00:57<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Hawthorn\u2019s model. When they have won the turnover battle, they are 16-zip,\u201d Montagna praised, as stats showed Hawthorn are 1-8 when they lose the turnover count.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where their half forwards come into play \u2013 they are the smartest half forward group in the competition and they can sniff out when the ball is turned over.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s fast paced at one end of the ground for the Hawks, down back it\u2019s the trusted in Barrass that could prove crucial in determining a winner on Friday night.\ufeff<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fascinates me this guy,\u201d David King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he\u2019s up the ground \u2013 and this is the biggest threat in the game for me \u2013 I\u2019d be taking him to wing as often as I could if I\u2019m (Cats forward) Shannon Neale.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet him high because he doesn\u2019t really do this part of the game as well. He labours when he\u2019s working back to goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tends to just drift. He\u2019s a bit of a drifter \u2013 he doesn\u2019t concentrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis won\u2019t be lost on Geelong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would have seen an opportunity here \u2013 the more times you can take Tom Barrass to the wing, the better off their forward 50 will be.<\/p>\n
\u201cBring your boots.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Barrass may be seen as vulnerable up the ground, former Hawk Ben Dixon said the defender\u2019s strengths were clear inside 50.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Sam (Mitchell) got him to Hawthorn he said \u2018inside 50 he can\u2019t be beat\u2019. That\u2019s why they got him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawks turnover game KEY vs. Cats | 03:07<\/p>\n
PLAYER TO WATCH: Patrick Dangerfield<\/p>\n
The Geelong veteran is set to have a massive impact on Friday night\u2019s match \u2013 and it\u2019s not hard to argue with the stats.<\/p>\n
In the 2022 AFL finals series, Dangerfield started in the middle seven of eight quarters of the prelim and grand final.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the man dubbed \u2018Danger\u2019 was there for all eight quarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, we\u2019ve hardly seen it. (But) two weeks ago, three of the four quarters \u2013 last quarter, the game\u2019s over. 31 points up, put him away again,\u201d David King explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll throw him in there, (with coach Chris Scott saying) get us going. We saw how destructive he was in that first quarter of the grand final against the Swans.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Isaac) Smith won the Norm Smith but Dangerfield set the game up \u2013 he just ripped their heart out and they cashed in from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the ace. (Scott is) going bang! If you can beat my trump card here in the biggest games in September, good luck to ya! But he\u2019s in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the coach asks for a special effort for the first five minutes. Give us your absolute best and as soon as you feel a little bit of fatigue, get forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunston and Ginnivan fit for Hawks | 02:29<\/p>\n
COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES vs BRISBANE LIONS: How \u2018Oprah-like\u2019 Lions can get through stingy Pies<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no doubt Collingwood\u2019s defence will be bolstered by the return of Jeremy Howe.<\/p>\n
Stats show the Pies lost just one game while a fit Howe played down back this season.<\/p>\n
Howe may be coming in underdone after a string of injuries and a shock concussion, but he\u2019s a crucial part of the stingy Pies defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at the way they move the ball \u2026 it compliments the way they want to play. It\u2019s all about being defensively set up behind the ball,\u201d David King explained on First Crack Preview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to take their time with their patient ball use.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no rush \u2013 no panic. <\/p>\n
\u201cGood luck moving the ball full length of the ground against the Pies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they can force a straight line, slow game, you won\u2019t score against Collingwood.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to statistics from the qualifying final against Adelaide, the Magpies went long down the line 16 times \u2013 and while they didn\u2019t get an immediate return on the scoreboard, 69% of the time they were next to score.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven out of 10 \u2013 that number is just outrageous,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdd Howe into that, this is a tough back six\/back seven to score through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachie Neale BACK in Lions training | 01:06<\/p>\n
But if there\u2019s one team with enough guts to roll the dice against the Pies, it\u2019s Brisbane.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrisbane won\u2019t take wide (options),\u201d King added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will back their players \u2026 because they\u2019ve got match winners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leigh Montagna says the Lions will take every chance they can to go corridor \u2013 and that will force the Pies defence to shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will still force it \u2013 even if you do clog up the numbers,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeams have clogged the corridor and they still bite it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
King said the confidence to go corridor came because coach Chris Fagan gave his elite players a \u201clicence\u201d to back themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a giver Fages, he\u2019s not a taker,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got a licence \u2013 he\u2019s like Oprah! He\u2019s handing them out everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
PLAYER TO WATCH: Nick Daicos<\/p>\n
Magpies young gun Nick Daicos looms large in Saturday\u2019s preliminary final.<\/p>\n
The midfielder has dominated against the Lions in recent meetings, as stats show.<\/p>\n
In the last six games against Brisbane, Daicos is +7% on disposals, +44% on score involvements, +71% on goals compared to his career average.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe feasts out on the Brisbane Lions,\u201d Leigh Montagna said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo much of their offence and X-factor comes through this man.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow well he plays could be the difference for the Pies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The preliminary finals are here with just four teams left battling it out for premiership glory. Fox Footy\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[101923,638,64,63,689,55,639,651,3237,101919,9203,3244,12923,10133,1818,101928,13213,13659,11288,101925,7492,10132,3465,101926,101927,80407,677,101922,39209,101924,74197,28959,701,101921,1820,85,25820,69078,101920,69040],"class_list":{"0":"post-152031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-ace-card","9":"tag-afl","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","13":"tag-australian-football-league","14":"tag-australianfootballleague","15":"tag-brisbane","16":"tag-brisbane-lions","17":"tag-career-average","18":"tag-catherine-healey","19":"tag-chris-fagan","20":"tag-chris-scott","21":"tag-collingwood-magpies","22":"tag-david-king","23":"tag-defensive-prowess","24":"tag-finals-series","25":"tag-geelong-cats","26":"tag-grand-final","27":"tag-hawk-ben-dixon","28":"tag-hawthorn-hawks","29":"tag-jeremy-howe","30":"tag-leigh-montagna","31":"tag-magpies-young","32":"tag-match-winners","33":"tag-norm-smith","34":"tag-oceania","35":"tag-patient-ball","36":"tag-patrick-dangerfield","37":"tag-preliminary-final-breakdown","38":"tag-preliminary-finals","39":"tag-premiership-glory","40":"tag-queensland","41":"tag-recruit-looms","42":"tag-score-involvements","43":"tag-sports","44":"tag-stats-show","45":"tag-tom-barrass","46":"tag-turnover-ball","47":"tag-turnover-differential"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}