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Patrick Dangerfield notched up game 100 for Geelong in typically fine style against Brisbane last week. Today we look at the impact the Moggs Creek maestro has had at the Cats since coming home.
SINCE his return to Geelong before the 2016 season, everything has trended up for Patrick Dangerfield.
Already with three All-Australian nods behind him, the star midfielder has needed to build an entire trophy room in his Moggs Creek house to find room for a Brownlow Medal, three Geelong best-and-fairest awards, an AFLPA MVP and four more All-Australian jumpers.
Off the field, the AFLPA president has set himself for a media career post-football. And plenty of surfing.
The lifelong Geelong fan has now played 100 games since joining the club from Adelaide and it has almost all gone to plan.
There’s just one gaping hole that’s yet to be filled in Dangerfield’s trophy room — a premiership medallion.
When he first returned home, the most famous man to ever come from Moggs Creek made it clear he wasn’t heading back to Victoria just in pursuit of success.
“This is where I’m from, this is where my family is, so you think about it at different stages and then you get to a certain stage in your life,” Dangerfield said after his trade was secured in 2015.
“I’m 25 now, football is important — it’s not the most important thing. The most important thing for me is family.”
Now a father and now 30 years old, the time is right for Dangerfield to make that last mark.
His dominating display on Thursday night against Brisbane showed he is still capable of being the best player in the AFL.
While his finals performances have uniformly been very good — his signature moment is probably booting four goals in the opening half against Sydney in 2017 — he hasn’t left a defining mark in his three preliminary final losses with the Cats.
But, physically, Dangerfield looks as strong as ever and his acceleration is still with him.
The naysayers who complain that Dangerfield’s kicking holds him back compared to other superstars like Dustin Martin are like music critics who complain The Rolling Stones aren’t as good at rapping as Biggie Smalls.
If he had everything it would be unfair.
In terms of impact both on the field and off it, the only player Geelong has ever recruited from another senior side that matches Dangerfield is the great Graham “Polly” Farmer.
This week against Collingwood, Dangerfield will equal the late ruckman’s tally of 101 Geelong games.
The modern star had such an overwhelming impact in his 2016 and 2017 campaigns — in which he polled a combined 68 Brownlow votes — it is hard to imagine Farmer matching that on-field output.
After a knee injury in 1962 that hindered Farmer, the West Australian was just as spectacular as Dangerfield, finishing runner-up in the Brownlow in 1963 and winning two Geelong best and fairests.
Most importantly, the leftfooter led his side to glory with a premiership in 1963.
After six years in the hoops, Farmer would leave Geelong after a heartbreaking 1967 Grand Final loss and would forever be regarded as a legend. If Farmer left without that 1963 flag, he would still be revered for bringing his attacking handball to the game.
Dangerfield likely has about 50 more games to come in his illustrious career and without a flag of his own, there will always be some who question his impact.
With the field as open as ever in 2020, this year might be Dangerfield’s best and one of his last chances to complete the trophy room.