Aaron Sandilands says Geelong will be incredibly tough to beat on Saturday night, Steve Johnson or no Steve Johnson.

The Cats superstar was offered a one-match suspension for kneeing, but his club has chosen to contest the charge at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.

If the appeal fails, Johnson will miss Saturday night’s crunch game against Freo and the following round against Carlton.

While Johnson is a vital part of Geelong’s side, Sandilands said there was plenty of others Freo had to look out for.

“He’s a quality player but they’ve got a heap of quality in their side,” he said.

“It’s why they’ve been so good over a long period of time.

“If he doesn’t play I’m sure they’ll have someone that will come in and replace him.”

Simonds Stadium was the stage for one of Fremantle’s most momentous wins in last year’s Qualifying Final.

Sandilands was arguably the most influential player on the ground, monstering the Cats’ inexperienced ruck.

He wouldn’t say Freo would have extra confidence this week because of that win, only that the club was looking forward to another tough contest.

“It’s one of the bigger challenges going round, going down to Geelong on their home deck, so we’ve got to be at our best to compete against them,” Sandilands said.

“In the past couple of weeks we haven’t been anywhere near our best and the best way to turn it around is on the training track.”

Freo’s next month also includes huge encounters with top-four aspirants Hawthorn and Port Adelaide.

Sandilands said it would be a tough period, but he warned it was crucial to maintain the full focus on the Cats.

“It is a massive challenge, but we can’t look much further than Geelong because they’re such a quality side,” he said.

“We’ll go from there.”