Geelong coach Chris Scott reckons it’s pure folly to think his team can repeat a 10-goal flogging of Port Adelaide in Thursday night’s AFL qualifying final.

The Cats thumped the Power by 60 points in their sole encounter this season in round 12.

But Scott believes there’s little relevance from that fixture heading into the Adelaide Oval final.

“When we assess the game, we look at Port’s body of work over the season and they have lost three games,” Scott told reporters on Monday.

“We have always had a high level of respect for the way they go about it, the way they’re coached – they’re going to be a significant challenge.

“Statistically they have been consistent right throughout the year and they are clear on the way they want the game played.

“We’re not going into the game thinking ‘well, let’s just replicate what we did last time’ because every week tends to be unique.

“This shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that maybe they just had a bad day the last time.”

Ruckman Rhys Stanley is in the selection frame to return from a groin injury which has sidelined him since round 15, with Tom Atkins also available after missing the last game because of soreness.

And Scott said veteran Gary Ablett, who returned last-start after a nine-game absence, was primed for an influential finals campaign.

“He went into the game against Sydney in pretty good shape, we thought, and performed pretty well,” Scott said.

“So we’re confident he will be better for the nine-day prep going into the Port Adelaide game.

“In a perfect world, he would have played a little bit more footy.

“But even compared to last year, Gary is in better shape now – albeit with less match practice – than he was last year.

“And he is probably symbolic of a few of the decisions we have made to hold guys back, to prioritise freshness and health coming into a finals series maybe at the expense of some match practice.”

The Cats have lost three preliminary finals in the past four years but would stick to the game style that earned a fourth-placed finish this season.

“The way we want to play is going to be similar to any other big game,” Scott said.

“The degree of difficulty goes up a little bit because of the repercussions if you don’t execute.”