West Coast brothers Adam and Scott Selwood believe they've come up with a good plan to curb the influence of star sibling Joel Selwood in Saturday's AFL preliminary final against Geelong at the MCG.

The three Selwood brothers have built up a reputation for their uncanny ability to duck and shrug in the tackle.

It's a manoeuvre that turns a normally legitimate tackle into a high-contact free kick as the tackler's hands slip above the shoulders.

Joel, 23, is a star of the Geelong midfield and is a high chance to be tagged by 21-year-old Scott as the Cats attempt to qualify for their fourth grand final in five years.

Adam, 27, said he and Scott had the advantage of being able to work with each other this week to find the secret to nullifying their brother.

"I said to Scotty, 'make sure mate, if you need to practice your tackling I'll work the manoeuvre a little bit so we know what we're coming up against'," Adam said with a laugh.

"We've already sorted it out, we know exactly how to do it (halt his influence).

"We've played against (Joel) before, but I guess this is do-or-die footy now and on the big stage which we've always dreamt of.

"I texted (Joel) saying we're one day closer to smashing him on Saturday.

"I haven't received one back yet, so whether I just keep sending that every day until Saturday ... he might start a little bit of banter back.

"What goes on between our phones, only us and the police will probably be able to find out if they want to go that far.

"But he's just a fantastic player.

"He hunts the footy, he's intense, he does the team things for Geelong and he'd be a fantastic teammate to play with.

"We understand that, but we also understand Geelong have a fantastic midfield of experienced players that have been to a prelim final over the last four to five years.

"They're very experienced and we've got to make sure we don't just focus on Joel this week.

"We have to focus on James Kelly and Jimmy Bartel and the rest of them."

Carlton coach Brett Ratten questioned Scott's tagging tactics after the tight-checking Eagle restricted Blues skipper Chris Judd to just 17 possessions last week.

But Adam scoffed at suggestions his younger brother's priority was to face the player rather than the ball.

"Well the stats speak for themselves," Adam said.

"You can't tackle or you can't put pressure on people if you're not looking at the ball. Scott ranks number one in the AFL for both of them so that pretty much says it all."

Adam said West Coast's off-field troubles over the past decade combined with poor on-field results over the previous three seasons had strengthened the club's resolve.

And with a spot in the grand final on the line this weekend, Adam is urging his teammates to grab the opportunity with both hands.

"They understand that making a prelim this year doesn't mean that we're going to make the prelim next year," he said.

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