Port looking to Matthew Lobbe to overpower smaller opponents EVERYTHING points to a Geelong victory in tonight's semi-final at the MCG. First look inside, in the modern parlance, where the Cats have had more contested possessions and hard-ball gets than Port Adelaide. Geelong is also partial to hurting opponents on the outside - where the Cats have had more uncontested possessions, uncontested marks and handball receives than the Power. But look up. Up there. Port can take heart from a clear advantage from where it all starts - the ruck. Lead ruckman Matthew Lobbe is ranked seventh in the league for hitouts, on a ladder that has none of Geelong's ruckmen in the top 18. Lobbe was the catalyst for Port's come-from-behind win over Collingwood last week. The 200cm, 99kg Lobbe is in such fine form, Ken Hinkley and his selection panel have dispensed with a second ruckman, meaning they can roll out another midfielder to supercharge Port's running brigade. Deploying Justin Westhoff and Jackson Trengove as makeshift ruckmen to rest Lobbe has worked well for the Power. Conversely, Nathan Vardy and Mark Blicavs were soundly beaten by Dockers Aaron Sandilands and Zac Clarke last week. The Fremantle duo racked up 53 hitouts to the Cats' 16, which fed into the Dockers' clearance tally of 43 to Geelong's 22. Geelong coach Chris Scott is well aware of the danger Lobbe poses, as the 24-year-old racked up 59 hitouts and had 17 possessions when the sides met at Simonds Stadium last month. "He was pretty dominant getting his hands on the ball down here against us in round 20," Scott said. "We understand that we have to play a different style with our ruckmen against the really big guys, and we'd include Lobbe in that category," Scott said. But guys like Lobbe and Sandilands, we're not trying to fight fire with fire. It didn't work on the weekend so we need to reassess what our plans are. Scott seemed to be saying he would concede the hitouts and instruct his runners to feed off Lobbe's taps, something they were unable to do against Fremantle. "The centre bounces really hurt us last week," he said. And that's not just the ruckmen, it's the players at ground level inside the square but outside the square as well. Feeding off the opposing ruckman takes meticulous planning, great skill and steely discipline, so should only be attempted as a last resort. But if any side can pull it off, it is Geelong. Consider that its players can draw upon the experience of 274 finals to the Power's 64. While Geelong has superior numbers to Port in almost every category, tellingly Port has had more clearances this year. So if the Power is to cause an upset it will look to the hulking Lobbe overpowering his smaller Geelong opponents. But people describing it as a David and Goliath battle would do well to remember that David won.