It’s time to bust cycle of anguish

IT’S the repetition that kills you.

For most Geelong fans, there is an unfortunately nerve-racking idea of what will come next.

A slow start in a qualifying final that can’t be made up against a good side, a bounce back the week after in the semi-final and more disappointment in a preliminary final. Over the past decade, it’s a story that has been told too often.

In 2013, 2017 and 2019 the recipe baked the same foultasting cake.

Things were slightly different in 2016, with the chef putting a twist on the preparation by winning the qualifying final against Hawthorn, but the same heartbreak returned two weeks later.

While coach Chris Scott often sticks to his line that the past is in the past, the weight of those painful images of the men in the hoops leaving the field dejected are on the shoulders of the Cats.

When the wash-up of each of those lost seasons came to pass, Geelong wasn’t the best side when it mattered.

Yet the Geelong side in those seasons was at least as good as 2013 Fremantle, 2016 Sydney or the Western Bulldogs, and 2019 Greater Western Sydney.

But you don’t need me to remind you that the Cats just couldn’t get it done when it counted.

With all the built-up anguish and anxiety bubbling to the surface again for Geelong fans, this October has to be different.

This time the Cats enter the finals with no real excuses on the injury front.

If Richmond is a worthy premiership favourite, Geelong is at the front of the next rung of contenders.

The Cats are almost certainly the second-best side in the competition right now and at times during this season, they have been the best side in it.

It’s just the mental demons that are lurking beneath the surface.

An ugly side of the supporter base came out of the shadows late last year when disgruntled Cats fans wrote in to the club to attack Scott.

That kind of personal attack and aggressive behaviour should be condemned, but it’s a sign of a fan base on edge.

Staying in contention for so long is an achievement but nobody will be bragging about finishing in the top four in 11 out of 14 seasons without another cup.

The club has done an excellent job of bringing in talent to stay in the window for champions like Joel Selwood, Harry Taylor and Tom Hawkins.

The promise to Patrick

Dangerfield of being part of a contending team has been delivered.

Now it is up to those big names — and those alongside them — to take that final step, to break through and to at least get to the starting line on October 24 at the Gabba.

On the importance of making the Grand Final, Dangerfield is unequivocal.

“It’s all that matters really, that last game in October now,” he said.

“That is the only thing that matters, but it’s a process to get there clearly. The team has changed from last year but there are a lot of players who played in that game (the 2019 preliminary final loss) and it still burns.

“But at the same time there is no point looking in the rear vision mirror, it’s about controlling what is in front of us.”

Last year’s preliminary final does still hurt, after the Cats were overwhelmed by the Tigers in the second half and squandered a 21-point lead.

What made it worse was the fact Geelong fans had seen it all before.

The players know they have come too close too many times without making the last dance.

For most clubs, finishing among the top four would be a successful year, but not for this Geelong team.

The players have trudged off the field after a preliminary final with heads bowed too many times.

For the Cats this year, it is a Grand Final or bust.