Geelong captain Joel Selwood has deflected the latest flare-up in the debate about players ducking for free kicks, while saying the Cats' new-look team is suffering from "teething problems" after consecutive bad losses.
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Selwood is often cited as someone expert in milking free kicks for head-high contact but collapsing in tackles but he laughed off questions about the issue on Wednesday.
"The AFL make the rules and the players play to them," Selwood said. Commentator Brian Taylor believes Selwood plays for free kicks in a "tough manner and a really well-disguised manner", while North Melbourne's Lindsay Thomas has been criticised for more blatant ducking.
"When the rules get changed the players adapt to them," Selwood said.
More pressing to Selwood is the form of his team and his own output, having started last week's loss to Carlton as a forward and been worked over by tagger Ed Curnow.
Selwood said he could be playing better: "That's a small part of it, I think I'll make sure I get that right."
The captain added that the Cats were working on giving away fewer free kicks and missing fewer goals before their match against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
The Cats missed out on the finals in 2015 but made a blistering start to this season – they won seven of their first eight games and were touted as premiership contenders.
But they have since endured consecutive shock losses to Carlton and Collingwood, throwing their entire season into doubt.
Geelong will have the home-ground advantage at the weekend, but lost to GWS in round two by 13 points.
Selwood put the losses down to "teething problems" among the group.
The Cats line-up includes several new faces after the club cleared out older players at the end of last year.
"If you are off, sides are going to come at you, it doesn't matter where they sit on the ladder and we've found that the last couple of weeks," he said.
The Cats have suffered due to their own rough play and on-field misconduct.
Umpires have paid an average of five more free kicks against them than for them this year.
"Our techniques with the free kicks can get better, and we've got to make sure we do that because it is our problem and we will fix it," Selwood said.
It will be the first time ex-Cat Steve Johnson plays against his old team at its home ground, after he was delisted at the end of last year and recruited by the Giants.
Selwood said he did not know what kind of reception the crowd would give his former teammate, but on the day Geelong would treat him as just another player.
"He's a great friend of a lot of ours and we wish him all the best with where he's gone and what he's doing, he's playing some good footy and we've got our eyes on the prize this week too," Selwood said.
Geelong forward Mitch Clark has long been sidelined with calf injuries, but will return to football in the VFL this weekend.
"It's exciting for Mitch, but it's more exciting for the footy club too," Selwood said.
"We just hope he gets out there and enjoys it this weekend ... he's a very, very good player and we expect him to just go out and do his best."
