Geelong coach Chris Scott is confident the Cats will be easier on the eye this week against Sydney, but it won’t come at the expense of more important matters such as getting back on the winners’ list.
The AFL ladder leaders copped plenty of criticism for their stolid ball movement last weekend against Hawthorn – the third time in a five-week spell where they had been held to eight goals or less in a loss.
The playing group will now spend more than a week together for back-to-back interstate games against the Swans on Sunday and Fremantle on Saturday week.
“It’s the new normal to an extent,” Scott told reporters on Thursday.
“The reason for going to Perth straight from Sydney more was to take the opportunity, as we do most years, to have the best part of a week with an extended squad together and get ourselves organised for a tilt at the end of the year.”
Despite a recent downturn in form and scoring output, Geelong still sit a game and a big slab of percentage clear atop the ladder.
Scott admits the Cats were “boring to watch” in the 24-point loss to arch-rivals Hawthorn.
“Playing exciting footy is not our priority necessarily,” he said.
“I think over the course of a long period of time, well and truly before I arrived at Geelong, we have tended to play an attractive style of footy.
“But I don’t think it’s ever been at the expense of giving ourselves the best chance to win.
“I’d probably reference some of the good footy we were playing early in the year when we were well and truly up there in terms of the ladder for points for.
“Was it daring footy? I’m not convinced of that either but I don’t resile from the fact that we were boring to watch and we took some options that weren’t our preference on the weekend.
“I don’t think we’ll be all-out attack this week, but hopefully the viewership will have a better time watching the hoops.”
Forgotten ruckman Zac Smith will be included in an expanded squad for Sunday’s SCG clash against the 15th-placed Swans.
In Smith’s favour he was a solid contributor in the 22-point win over the Swans back in round 11, his only previous senior appearance this year.
But midfielder Brandan Parfitt will miss at least one more week with a sore back.