Geelong will be buoyed by the return of a 442-goal juggernaut when forward Tom Hawkins runs out for the Cats’ clash with the Swans at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday.
The one-time All-Australian missed his side’s match with Port Adelaide last Saturday due to back spasms and will return for his fifth game of the season in the Round 6 fixture.
Fellow forward Corey Gregson will join him in a return from injury after he suffered a mid-foot sprain in Geelong’s clash with St Kilda in Round 4.
Hawkins and Gregson have replaced Daniel Menzel (groin) and Jackson Thurlow (omitted), while two-time Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett (hamstring) will spend another game on the sidelines.
A new-look Swans forward line will front up against the Cats due to injuries to Lance Franklin (heel) and Dean Towers (eye), but Menzel’s absence means Geelong is faced with forward-line uncertainty of its own.
The 26-year-old has booted 15 goals in 2018 to be running fifth in the race for the Coleman Medal.
The Cats head into Saturday with the same record as the Swans, having won three games and lost two after the opening five rounds.
The Swans will be looking to make amends for a 10-point loss to the Crows and star Cats midfielder Patrick Dangerfield said he expected Sydney to respond.
“They’re a very proud side and they obviously didn’t have the game they would have liked to against Adelaide,” Dangerfield said.
“We’ll be expecting their best. They’ve played some really good footy against us in the past, so we’ll have to make sure we’re at our absolute best.”
Geelong got its 2018 campaign off to a winning start against Melbourne before succumbing to defeat against Hawthorn and West Coast in the second and third rounds.
But despite losing Ablett to injury in the loss to West Coast, Geelong responded through a 47-point win over St Kilda and a 34-point victory over Port Adelaide.
The Cats led at every change in their win over the Power on the weekend and ran in four goals to Port’s zero in the final term.
Ruckmen Rhys Stanley (45 hit-outs) and Esava Ratugolea (19) provided the midfield with silver-class service as the Cats topped the hit-outs 64 to 42.
They also topped contested possessions (157-143) and took 10 marks inside 50 to the Power’s four.
Skipper Joel Selwood (29 disposals) was best afield in a performance that earned him the Major Peter Badcoe VC Medal, while Dangerfield (28) also fired.
Midfield understudy Sam Menegola (26) continued to quietly achieve in their shadows, while fellow on-baller George Horlin-Smith finished with 26 touches and a pair of goals.
The Swans and Cats have met 221 times in VFL/AFL history and Geelong leads the head-to-head 121 to 100.
But the last 10 matches are split down the middle and both sides have enjoyed a win the last two times the Swans and Cats have met in finals.
