GEELONG coach Shane O’Bree is hoping for improved cohesion from his tall forwards on Saturday as the Cats attempt to take down VFL ladder leader Richmond at the Swinburne Centre.
O’Bree lamented his side’s below-average functionality in attack against Footscray last week when the big men often found themselves leading towards the same spots as ‘dirty ball’ tumbled forward in difficult conditions.
However, the fourth-year reserves mentor felt a week spent working on those issues on the training track would have the Cats’ talls purring again.
Ruck-forward Zac Smith has been squeezed out of the AFL side and is set to join Wylie Buzza, Ryan Abbott, Nathan Kreuger and Darcy Fort as attacking weapons available at VFL level.
“Before last week, we were making massive inroads into it, but I’m putting down last week purely to the conditions,” O’Bree said.
“The chemistry and the cohesion of the group wasn’t the best.
“We’ve done a bit of work on it at training this week, and we’re hoping that this week we play a bit better together and make it easier on ourselves.
“They are weapons for us if we can get the ball forward and they work together well.”
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The quintet of tall targets will attempt to link up with a formidable Geelong midfield unit led by experienced on-baller Scott Selwood and fellow AFL-listed midfielders Lachie Fogarty and Charlie Constable.
“We’ll be wanting a fair bit out of those guys because Richmond is a very good contested, hard-ball and loose-ball team,” O’Bree said.
“The difference could be around the stoppages and contests, so we’ll rely on those guys around that area.”
Kreuger has been cleared to play despite a big hit from Footscray’s Fletcher Roberts last week that left him dazed.
The 19-year-old South Australian, who was joined Geelong via a trade with Carlton of one of the Blues’ state league priority picks last October and is yet to make his AFL debut, kicked six goals against Coburg the previous week.
Twitter: @shayne_hope
