Experience puts Cats in with a chance for glory
SO here we are again.
The end of another homeand-away season, 198 games of football played, and Geelong finds itself in second place on the ladder.
It is not unfamiliar territory for the Cats.
Geelong has finished in the top two in eight of the past 11 seasons, and won three flags from four Grand Finals the previous seven occasions.
What that says is that securing a home qualifying final does not always equate to a Grand Final berth, let alone premiership glory, so there is a long way to go.
But the way Geelong played on Saturday night reminded the footy world of what it is capable of when it gets everything working.
It was a statement of intent against a genuine premiership contender and signalled that the Cats mean business.
Last year they played Essendon (18th), Richmond (13th), Brisbane Lions (17th) and Melbourne (11th) to round out their season and had four wins heading into the bye week before finals.
This year they have played a red-hot Sydney (sixth), Richmond (third), Collingwood (13th) and GWS (fourth).
Geelong has gone 3-1 in that time, losing only to the Swans on a night it was missing Patrick Dangerfield and when it lost Joel Selwood to injury.
Those wins will buoy Geelong’s confidence in the month ahead, even if Chris Scott was reluctant to put too much emphasis on recent outings against top-eight teams.
“If we had have had bad losses then that would have been a little bit of a problem but sometimes losing games can help you find the way forward as well,” Scott said.
“Hopefully I’m pretty consistent with this one, I don’t think that previous performance makes that much difference to future performance.
“Sometimes teams match up OK against different teams. I don’t think that is the situation with us and Richmond and GWS, but it’s preferable to have played well against them in the recent past.”
The Cats have spent the past month defying the doubters who said they could not win the premiership this year.
The captain is still to come back — as is, hopefully for Geelong, Nakia Cockatoo — but credit must be given to the midfield brigade that has done everything it had to in his absence to take their collective game to a new level.
They have had to play without Selwood, Dangerfield and Mitch Duncan at various stages due to suspension, but players such as Sam Menegola, Scott Selwood, Jordan Murdoch, Jake Kolodjashnij and Cam Guthrie have more than held their own.
It is even more impressive that in the process they have blooded youngsters such as Sam Simpson and Zach Guthrie, who may be called on in September, and in the forward half of the ground Wylie Buzza, who grows in stature every week.
Harry Taylor was a rock in defence only two weeks after playing a starring role in attack, Zac Smith worked tirelessly in the ruck and has looked a far more confident player as the sole ruckman, and Tom Hawkins returned with a bang after a two-week suspension.
Now though, the hard work begins all over again.
What the Cats have done is given themselves the best opportunity for success.
But their 2-6 finals record in the past five years suggests they know better than most that a spot in the top two at the end of the home-and-away season means little if you don’t capitalise on that opportunity.
Over to you, boys.