GEELONG coach Dan Lowther isn’t shying away from his desire for the Cats to push for a top-four finish over the final month of the season.
Sitting sixth with a 4-2 win-loss record, Geelong faces three teams below it on the ladder in the final four rounds, starting with competition newcomers Essendon in Warrnambool on Sunday.
“There’s a bit of a logjam with teams sitting on a certain amount of points trying to fight for, potentially, that third or fourth position that might come up for grabs,” Lowther said.
“If we can pinch fourth position, I’d be thrilled to give our players a second opportunity in finals.
“But … to play finals, coming from where we’ve been over the last few years, is a realistic opportunity we want to aim for as well.
“Top-four would just be even better.”
Lowther believes the opening six weeks of the season have exceeded expectations.
The four wins included first-time victories over Fremantle, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs.
However, the coach is “not surprised” at the Cats’ improvement.
“We’re just happy that things have gone along as planned, I suppose,” Lowther said.
“We’ve recalibrated for the next four games because they’re all important games, and we’ve still got to treat them with the same intensity and the same thought-space around that each game is like a mini-final.
Essendon has been the best performed of the four expansion teams, with wins over Hawthorn and West Coast and narrow losses to Carlton (one point), Richmond (two points) and Collingwood (11 points).
However, the Bombers were on the end of a 44-point hiding from ladder-leader Brisbane last week.
“Essendon have been exceptional the way they’ve put together a team,” Lowther said.
“They’ve had less preparation time than most, and they’ve hung in there and played some good footy against some good teams.
“Last week, I think, was just a blip on the map for them in terms of how they got outdone by the Lions.
“We’re expecting a really big challenge this week.”
2020 AFLW best-and-fairest Madison Prespakis has been a standout for Essendon in its s debut season after making a move from Carlton.
She is averaging 21.8 disposals per game, with Lowther weighing up how to best curtail her influence.
“We consider all options,” he said. “Looking at the opposition she’s played over the last few weeks. She’s clearly one of the premier midfielders in the competition.
“We’ll treat her with the respect she deserves.
“We’ll go back and have a look at how other teams have tried to stop her influence on games.
“But, at the same time, we’ve got a midfield who’s humming along pretty well at the moment, too.
“We don’t want to negate the way they’re flowing as well.”
Experienced forward/ruck Kate Darby is expected to return after being a late withdrawal from the win over the Bulldogs due to illness.
Twitter: @krockfootball
