CATS BACKLINE THE KEY TO EXORCISING DEMONS
Mark Heenan of AAP 31 August 2005

Geelong vice-captain Cameron Ling is confident the Cats have the ability to contain Melbourne's in-form forwards in Saturday's AFL elimination final at the MCG.

High-flying Russell Robertson has been the Demons' hero in recent weeks, including a match-winning seven-goal haul against Geelong in round 20.

Despite standing only 184cm tall, Robertson finished third in the Coleman Medal race behind only Fraser Gehrig and Barry Hall.

Defender Tom Harley is expected to line-up on the Demons' high flyer.

And with Brad Green successfully returning from a finger operation to kick three goals last weekend, Geelong's back half will have to be at their best.

"Hopefully we can hold him (Robertson) a little bit better, with Tommy Harley back he certainly helps the backline and straightens us up a bit," said Ling.

"I reckon he (Robertson) won't kick as many goals against us this week, that will be a focus.

"We're not going to focus all of our attention on Robertson, but we wouldn't want him to get away again."

Demons skipper David Neitz remains in severe doubt with a recurring knee injury, but the Cats are basing their preparation around the assumption that the 2002 Coleman medallist will take his place in the Melbourne lineup.

Geelong defender Josh Hunt is expected to return from an appendix operation and trained on Wednesday, after missing the past two matches.

"He (Hunt) is good as gold as far as I know, hopefully he will slot back in," Ling said.

Another potential disadvantage for the sixth-placed Cats is playing seventh-placed Melbourne on the MCG.

Geelong has only played two games at the MCG this season, most recently in round three when it lost to the Demons by 48 points.

"It's not much of a concern, a lot of the boys have played there enough over the years," he said.

"We know the ground, obviously the stands have changed a little bit, but that won't be too big a deal."

Melbourne has won their past two games against Geelong by an average margin of 24 points.