Double act lifts coach
Atkins shines at back
IT might have been “just” a practice match, but to the 11,121 people at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night this meant so much more.
For the first time since 2019, the Geelong AFL team was playing football at home in front of spectators.
The result — a seven-point victory to the Cats — was a bonus.
Simply being back with friends to watch the footy was a win itself.
For Geelong coach Chris Scott, the clash against Essendon was the last chance to see his side in action against a rival team before Round 1. Scott would have been pleased by most of what he saw. As assistant coach Matthew Knights pointed out, “it was a pretty spirited encounter”. Of note for the Cats was the fact their two highest profile players — Jeremy Cameron and Patrick Dangerfield — got through unscathed and spent close to 80 per cent of the game on the ground.
Dangerfield was prolific early while Cameron had a hand in the first goals of the night, scored two himself and could easily have had more.
Knights said Saturday’s game was a timely hit out for the pair.
“Patty needed the work,” he said.
“He played predominantly in the midfield and played long play periods, which we were really keen for him to do. “It was the same for Jeremy, and being able to play the amount of time he did off his last month was significant for us.
“So, massive wins for those two guys to come through the game unscathed and feeling good about themselves and heading into Round 1 now with both of them ready to go.”
At the other end of the ground, Tom Atkins looked like a veteran defender despite only making the shift into the backline this summer.
Atkins was one of the hard luck stories of the finals, losing his place in the side following the qualifying final loss to Port Adelaide and ultimately missing out on selection in the grand final.
But he was composed down back, first limiting the effect of the dangerous Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and then hurting the Bombers going the other way.
He finished the night with 28 disposals, four tackles and six rebound-50s, and Knights said Atkins provided the Cats with a different look in defence.
“I thought Tom Atkins played very well,” he said.
“I thought he was clean over the ground ball, I thought he defended well in the air with a couple of really good spoils, so it was a big tick for him.
“(He) gives us a bit of a different look down back. He has come from a midfield background and a forward background, so (he gives us) that composure and creativity down back, but also he is such a great competitor having been a really competent midfielder and forward that he is going to be good in one-on-ones.”
Off-season recruit Isaac Smith worked into the game beautifully in his first match in blue-and-white hoops, finishing with 25 possessions and seven inside-50s, while Tom Stewart, Jed Bews and Mark O’Connor barely missed a beat in the backline.