Die Macht » Derby draw with Central Coast after a he

Having already borne the brunt of the best Sydney has to offer back in July, there is no danger of Geelong underestimating the huge challenge posed by the Swans in their upcoming AFL preliminary final.The Cats earned the bye last weekend by virtue of their epic two-point victory over Hawthorn in the qualifying final back on September 7 and will be a refreshed outfit when they square off against Sydney at the MCG on Friday night.A highlight of the encounter between the teams which filled the top two spots on the ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season will be the clash of two of the leagues deepest and toughest midfields.The Swans dominated that contest within a contest back in round 16, when the likes of Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery, Kieren Jack and Tom Mitchell held sway in the middle as Sydney handed Geelong a 38-point thumping.It was only the Cats seventh loss in their past 72 games at Simonds StadiumOur midfield is now gelling a bit more, weve got a bit more chemistry now and the inclusion of Scotty Selwood and Sam Menegola has been fantastic for us, Geelong utility Mark Blicavs said on Wednesday.Well go in really confident on Friday night but we know the damage the Swans can do.They showed that against Adelaide on Saturday night and they towelled us up down here.On the most recent occasion Geelong played in a preliminary final, back in 2013, Blicavs was a wide-eyed rookie still making the transition from steeplechaser to elite AFL footballer.That match ended in a five-point defeat to arch-rivals Hawthorn, who would go on to win the next three flags.I didnt really know the opportunity that was in front of me, but I realise it a bit more now, said Blicavs.Back then I was a 22-year-old who was just playing footy because I enjoyed it and didnt understand how big a scale it was.Blicavs said the Cats would benefit from having played only one match since trouncing Melbourne by 111 points back on August 27 to close out the home and away season.I think it will keep us fresh mentally and physically from the Hawthorn game, he said.That was probably the most physically and mentally demanding game Ive been involved in. Custom Mecole Hardman Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Custom Chiefs Jersey China . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom-dave-krieg-jersey-large-406n.html . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Stone Johnson Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Alex Brown Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Newcastles A-League injury curse has struck again with star striker Aleksandr Kokko to undergo surgery on a fractured jaw on Monday.The Finnish centre-forward suffered the injury in the 88th minute of Sundays 1-1 F3 Derby draw with Central Coast after a head clash in the penalty area with Josh Bingham, who was attempting to put the ball out for a corner kick.Kokko fell to the ground clutching his face and was spitting blood before he was sent for scans post-match, which confirmed the extent of the damage.Kokko had only been on the field for approximately 10 minutes and showed a couple of neat touches as the Jets rallied for a late winner against the Mariners, who were down to 10 men.No timeline has been set but its expected the 29-year-old wont return for at least a few weeks.Its another disappointing setback for Kokko, who haas struggled to stay on the park since succumbing to injury on his Jets debut earlier this season.ddddddddddddHe has made only two starts in seven rounds and is yet to break his scoring duck, with Newcastles only win to date a shock 4-0 result over Brisbane Roar back in round two.Newcastle are currently without skipper Nigel Boogaard (knee), Daniel Mullen (knee) and Lachlan Jackson (ankle), while goalkeeper Ben Kennedy (Achilles) and Daniel Alessi (knee) have been ruled out for the season.Coach Mark Jones already has two injury-replacement players on the books in rookie utility Johnny Koutroumbis and veteran defender Iain Fyfe and he may be forced to sign a third if Kokko is out for the longer term. ' ' '