The Age ›
No surprises likely at Geelong for Melbourne's Max Gawn
Peter Ryan March 27, 2019
The tactics Port Adelaide used to upset Melbourne ruckman
Max Gawn in round one won't influence Geelong's approach towards the game's No.1 ruckman at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.
Gawn was restricted to 13 disposals against Port Adelaide as the entire Port team physically harrassed him at every opportunity.
He admitted after the game he didn't handle the attention as well as he normally would, with the performances of Port's two ruckman Scott Lycett and Paddy Ryder eclipsing the All-Australian ruckman.
Port Adelaide outscored Melbourne by 26 points from stoppages as the Demons went away from the blue-collar ethic in the midfield that got them into last year's finals.
However Geelong coach Chris Scott said he suspected the tactics used against Gawn may have been overplayed.
He said the Cats would not lay out the approach they would take before the game, but were unlikely to be influenced much by what Port did in round one.
"When you are one of the best players in the competition you are going to get some extra attention from the opposition," Scott said.
"I don't think Max [Gawn] is particularly different to Clayton Oliver or Jack Viney or Patrick Dangerfield or Joel Selwood. They will expect treatment every week.
"I don't think it changes our approach that much."
Many significant moments in Gawn's career have occurred against Geelong. He earned three Brownlow votes for the first time when he played a breakout game against the Cats in 2015. He suffered a hamstring injury against Geelong in 2017 that derailed his season.
In 2018 he missed a goal that could have won Melbourne the match in round one against the Cats, then was off the ground late in last year's game at GMHBA Stadium because of the blood rule as Zach Tuohy kicked a matchwinning goal for the Cats after the siren. Gawn then played in his first finals win against Geelong at the MCG last season.
Geelong ruckman
Rhys Stanley played well against Collingwood's Brodie Grundy in round one and was particularly influential late in the game. He worked well in tandem with forward
Esava Ratugolea, who was playing just his ninth game for the Cats.
The Cats played four first-gamers last Friday night and all performed well enough to keep their spot although the Cats expect
Cam Guthrie to be available for selection after suffering a calf strain late in the pre-season and experienced defender
Lachie Henderson is also well in the frame.
Scott said
Henderson played well in the VFL practice match last Friday against Collingwood and he would be a key part of their mix throughout 2019.
"There are a few factors that go into the decision-making of people with selection, particularly with key position players," Scott said.
"The approach we are trying to take with our defensive group is that we have a group of guys that are ready to play in any particular week and we are going to go with a combination of that."
