West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern admits he was initially rattled by being tagged, but is confident he now has enough tricks up his sleeve to deal with it.
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McGovern is the AFL's intercept king, with his hot form in defence earning him three straight All-Australian jumpers.
Rival teams have previously struggled to curb McGovern's influence, but an out-of-the-box approach has worked in recent weeks.
Port Adelaide limited the influence of McGovern in round 21 by giving 185cm forward Aidyn Johnson a tagging role on the star Eagle.
The Demons played 186cm forward Jake Melksham on McGovern in their round 22 win over West Coast, and Collingwood sent Chris Mayne to the star Eagle after quarter-time of the recent qualifying final.
McGovern tallied seven marks in the first quarter of the win against Collingwood, but had just two more for the match after he was tagged by Mayne.
Melksham could get the job on McGovern again in Saturday's preliminary final at Optus Stadium.
If the move does occur, McGovern and his fellow defenders will be ready for it.
"It caught us off guard for a few weeks. I think as a team in that back six we were a bit rattled with it," McGovern said of the tagging tactic.
"We'd never seen that before, so it was a bit different for us. It's a bit cat and mouse.
"But now that it's happened a few times, we've got a few things up our sleeve to try to shake it as much as we can."
McGovern said even if he couldn't break loose, it would free up the likes of Tom Barrass and Shannon Hurn to take the intercept marks.
Melbourne are the highest scoring team in the competition, meaning West Coast won't want to get involved in a shootout.
But if the game turns into one, McGovern says West Coast boasts enough attacking weapons to get the job done.
"I think that's what Melbourne like - they like a bit of chaos," McGovern said.
"That sort of randomness is what they like. Anything goes going fast all the time.
"It's a good thing to have in your tool bag - a bit of chaos. But sometimes it can get you into trouble.
"I think we like a shootout at times as well. Whatever happens, we'll have to deal with it."
McGovern is full of confidence that Will Schofield will be able to slot in seamlessly to replace injured backman Brad Sheppard (hamstring).
Australian Associated Press
