Geelong mixes it up
JOSH Caddy speaks about Geelong’s point of difference going into a genuine premiership tilt.
It is not the superstar value of the Cats’ power-packed midfield but something more blue-collar, more industrious. Versatility. Geelong’s shock value is the unpredictability of how it can line up. The Cats have long had a preference to bring in players who can play multiple roles.
“Sammy Menegola kicked three goals today, Joel Selwood kicked one and we know (Patrick) Dangerfield can play forward, too,” Caddy said after Saturday’s win over Melbourne.
“Cam (Guthrie) can play back, Mitch Duncan can play back. That’s what we’re going to have to do during September and that can be a point of difference for us if we nail it, I suppose, and give us a good spread.”
It does not end there. We know Harry Taylor can swing forward to unsettle and stretch opposition defences, so, too, Lachie Henderson when he returns, Caddy can be a wrecking ball in the forward half of the ground and Jimmy Bartel has made an art form this year of popping up in every nook and cranny of the ground as the genuine Mr Fixit.
Ruckman Rhys Stanley has had bursts of brilliance as a power-marking forward and Steven Motlop, despite his wildly inconsistent season, has the chance to be a valuable line-breaker amid the contested arm-wrestle of finals.
“Even Hawthorn in the last few years, they’ve had Cyril (Rioli) go through the middle, (Paul) Puopolo can go through the middle, (Luke) Breust, even (Shaun) Burgoyne,” Caddy said.
“Good teams have that versatility, so it’s very, very important.”
There was timely symmetry between Geelong and Sydney on Saturday as the league’s top two sides tuned up for their premiership tilts with triple-figure wins.
Geelong has a glint in the eye for what lies ahead.
There was ominous conviction in the way the Cats put the Demons to the sword with 10 goals in a brutal final quarter to win by 111 points.
Rag-dolling vulnerable sides had not been part of the Cats’ repertoire this season. But on Saturday they jumped Melbourne with a pressure onslaught in the first quarter and methodically dismantled the Demons in all areas to hit the finals in prime form.
There are shades of the 2011 campaign where the Cats dispelled lingering doubts about their credentials with a thumping win over Collingwood in the final round of the season.
Tom Hawkins, who was gripped by an inconsistent season that year, took an encouraging step forward that night and went on to have a finals series that lives in Geelong folklore.
Like 2011, Geelong’s formline this year has been uncertain yet simultaneously strong enough to finish the season second on the ladder.
And like this year, Hawkins rounded out the season with a performance that is sure to alleviate the mental demons that have weighed on him as he questioned whether the game was starting to pass him by.
“It was the perfect stepping stone for us,” Caddy said.
“It was good to get a big win but it was more about how we played.
“I reckon against good teams, and Melbourne’s a good pressure side around the ball, that’s what finals footy’s like.
“We wanted to bring that intensity, a really contested brand of footy, and that's what we did.
“We forced them to turn it over and give the ball back to us and that’s what gave us an offensive look, on the back of really good pressure and defence.”
Dangerfield’s stranglehold on Brownlow Medal favouritism will only tighten after he bounced off his opponents with at times contemptuous ease on his way to 32 possessions, 10 clearances and 16 inside-50s.
Taylor put in one final defensive masterclass to underline his All-Australian credentials and Joel Selwood was typically brilliant.
“We’ve given ourselves every chance now, we’ve got a healthy list,” Caddy said.
“Obviously with Lachie (Henderson), we have to wait and see what happens, and Scotty (Selwood) as well, but we’re pretty healthy and got that top-two finish.”