Sydney midfielder Justin McInerney knows if they misjudge Geelong, his high-flying Swans might land in all sorts of problems.
Boasting fresh legs following a bye, the Swans are prepared to kick off their red-hot march to the AFL finals with a Sunday hit-out against the Cats at the SCG.
At first look, handing Geelong a setback may appear a straightforward enough chore for the flag favourites.
The harbour city squad leads the league, with the best percentage (150.1 per cent), the strongest offence (1132 points for) and the stingiest defence (754 points against).
Sydney have lost just one this season – a five-point loss at the hands of Richmond in round three.
Meanwhile, Chris Scott’s Cats are rebuilding after snapping a four-game losing run – their worst streak in 18 years.
A sloppy Geelong unit scored an unconvincing 30-point win against the Tigers last time out, having trailing by 29 points in the first half against the competition strugglers.
The Cats will be attempting to wrest back momentum, this time with a four-quarter performance, and McInerney understands that desperation can make a team dangerous.
“Every team has their lulls. We know that Geelong is going to bounce back,” McInerney told AAP.
“We’re not going to take them lightly at all. They’ve demonstrated throughout the past two decades how good they are, and they’re always up for the challenge.
“They’ve shown us enough of times how good they are. This Sunday is going to be no different.”
Geelong will be buoyed by the return of Mark Blicavs and Jhye Clark from suspension, but will still be without captain Patrick Dangerfield (hamstring).
The Swans will shift their focus to the Cats’ other talents, with a potential match-up on the wing between McInerney and Jeremy Cameron.
“He’s been doing a little of wing work and he’s obviously one of the better players in the comp, so I’ll have to watch out for that,” McInerney said.
“(The Cats are dangerous with) their run and their ability to spread ahead and react first.
“They’ve got such damaging forwards and hopefully they don’t get on top of us.”
Sydney will be missing captain Callum Mills, but welcome back defensive stalwart Tom McCartin (concussion).
Geelong’s Toby Conway (knee) and Zach Tuohy (hip) will also miss the clash after they were pulled from the Cats squad on Friday.
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