YOUNG CAT RISING

While some players struggled with the uncertainty of the AFL shutdown, Cats forward Gryan Miers says he used the time to take his game to the next level. THE MAKING OF MIERS

“It was fun for me and I probably didn’t use my mind enough for off-field things because I feel like I was switched on with football.”

Miers used the time away from the club wisely in other areas outside of fitness as well, spending hours with Okunbor working on their skills.

Each day they took two Australian rules footballs and a Gaelic football to an oval and honed their touch.

It was evident last Friday night against Hawthorn as the former Grovedale junior made the most of his 20 disposals, ultimately finishing with three goals in what proved to be a very handy return.

But Miers believes more than anything that his performance — as well as that of his team — should only serve as a boost of confidence rather than anything on which to rest his laurels.

“Since I have come back I have been getting my hands on the ball a lot more in training and I feel like I have been training quite well and quite hard,” he said.

“I don’t think I can be stoked with that performance, or we can as a team, but it gives us all confidence.

“If anything, we can take away from that that we are good enough and if we play the right way then we can beat any team. Some of us may not have had that confidence at the start of the year, whereas now we have a lot of belief.

“Everyone played their role against Hawthorn and a lot of people got rewarded, like myself, but I was just doing my bit for the team. Sometimes I will do the exact same thing and I won’t get the goals, but if we play that way each week I think we will go a long way.”

Interestingly, Miers kicked all three of his majors in the second half, at the same time as racking up 75 per cent of his possessions.

As Hawthorn players, and even some Geelong ones, faded and fatigued after the main break, Miers took advantage.

It speaks to his capacity to run all day — only Mark Blicavs, Mark O’Connor and Sam Menegola have bigger engines at the Cats — and suggests he has the potential to move into a midfield role at some point down the track.

But while he has the physical prowess required to cover the ground comfortably, Geelong coach Chris Scott remains of the view that Miers can best serve his side closer to goal.

“Fundamentally I think he is going to be a goal kicker, so we wouldn’t want to change his role to take that part of his game away,” Scott said.

“But it is a nice combination of being dangerous around goal and also being a power runner.

“That is the balance for us but I think the evolution for him would be moving a little bit more up the ground at times, although not at the expense of getting into a position where he can get shots on goal.”

Miers agrees.

“I have trained a lot more through the midfield this offseason and I think I will continue to do that and get some game time on the wing and maybe even on the inside a little bit,” he said.

“I have the attributes to do it, but I also have the attributes to play forward and I feel dangerous there — and the team feels I am dangerous there — so using me there is