Patrick Dangerfield will face his old mates for the third time since returning to Victoria when Geelong host Adelaide on Friday night.
The Cats and the Crows are both in the mix for the flag this year, despite looking vulnerable at different stages of the season so far.
Geelong started the year 5-0, and then had three poor losses in a row, before clicking back into form over the last week with two wins over the Bulldogs and Port Adelaide. This marks the third week in a row that the Cats have hosted a strong opposition team at Simonds Stadium. With a bit of luck, this could prove to be their third win in a row, and if they take the scalp of the ladder-leading Crows, they’ll really feel like a flag fancy.
Adelaide on the other hand had a strong start to the year as well, going 6-0, but lost their next two matches after that. However the past fortnight has shown that they are by no means out of form – they smashed Brisbane at the Gabba by 80 points, then taught Fremantle a new lesson in pain last week, running over them by 100. No other team in the league can score like they do when their midfield is providing the ball, and that has allowed them to put up some truly terrifying numbers. Happy no doubt with last week’s performance, the Crows haven’t made a single change to last week’s side.
Geelong have lost Jed Bews to an ankle injury and have also dropped Jordan Cunico, with Tom Lonergan and Nakia Cockatoo returning to strengthen the side.
Geelong have won nine in a row over the Crows at this ground, they haven’t lost to Adelaide here in 14 years in fact.
The Crows are favoured to break that streak but Geelong’s home ground advantage should prove the difference between the sides and at $2.20 to win, they’re good value.