The highlight of round 22 will be Geelong hosting Sydney – 2nd v 3rd.

After two unexpected losses in three weeks to Adelaide and North, Geelong appear to be back to near their best with comfortable wins over both Western Australian teams in the past fortnight.

They recorded a 25 point win over Fremantle and last week, won by 11 goals over the Eagles.

These wins have the Geelong ship back on course and this should be a test they meet with great enthusiasm as they prepare for the finals.

There have been some great struggles between these two clubs in recent times with Geelong gaining the upper-hand slightly in recent times, winning the past two clashes by 34 and in round 4 this year at the SCG, 21 points.

After a cushy run in terms of the draw, Sydney suffered their first lost in seven weeks when losing to Collingwood in round 20 before bouncing back immediately with a good win over St. Kilda last week, scoring by 59 points.

The Collingwood loss was Sydney’s fourth to a team in the top eight and they are yet to register a win over the other top four teams – Hawthorn, Geelong or Fremantle.

They’ve been caught slightly short when having to take on the top tier teams thus far this year and need to step up to the plate here to verify their finals chances.

Geelong are giving the Swans 18.5 here in early markets. Given the past two results and that Geelong are at home, this is well within the Cats’ reach.

TIP: GEELONG – 18.5

Odds comparison by AFL Odds:

Geelong Cats	1.48	1.50	1.45	1.50	1.48	1.48
Sydney Swans	2.65	2.55	2.75	2.55	2.65	2.67

Teams:

Geelong Cats:
B: Andrew Mackie, Tom Lonergan, Corey Enright
HB: Jimmy Bartel, Jared Rivers, Cameron Guthrie
C: Steve Johnson, Joel Selwood, Allen Christensen
HF: Mathew Stokes, Harry Taylor, Paul Chapman
F: James Podsiadly, Tom Hawkins, Travis Varcoe
Foll: Nathan Vardy, James Kelly, Mitch Duncan
I/C: Joel Corey, Mark Blicavs, Josh Caddy, Steven Motlop
Emg: Jordan Murdoch, Josh Walker, George Horlin-Smith

In: P.Chapman, T.Hawkins
Out: J.Walker, J.Murdoch

Sydney Swans:
B: Dane Rampe, Heath Grundy, Nick Smith
HB: Andrejs Everitt, Ted Richards, Nick Malceski
C: Jarrad McVeigh, Ryan O’Keefe, Gary Rohan
HF: Daniel Hannebery, Jesse White, Luke Parker
F: Rhyce Shaw, Kurt Tippett, Craig Bird
Foll: Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack
I/C: Ben McGlynn, Tom Mitchell, Jed Lamb, Mike Pyke
Emg: Shane Biggs, Xavier Richards, Harry Cunningham

In: T.Mitchell
Out: J.Bolton (illness)