Cats to move it quickly
Focus on transition
BALL movement was the focus for Geelong on Thursday morning as Rhys Stanley got through a strong session.
Stanley joined in with the first-choice midfield group at training and took a pair of strong marks when the ball was kicked long down the line.
Geelong’s A-team took itself on, with Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan leading the midfield group against Tom Stewart and Harry Taylor as defenders, as the midfield attempted to move the ball via short kicks from deep in defence to attack.
While the Cats stuck with their trademark short-kicking game, there was an emphasis on moving the ball on quickly as soon as an opening arose.
Geelong was stagnant at times against Sydney last Sunday and will look to move the ball quickly next Thursday against a Port Adelaide side that finished with the season’s best defence.
Zach Tuohy trained well in that midfield team but left the track early after a discussion with a club staffer, which appeared to be regarding his troublesome knee.
He returned to watch the end of the session and didn’t appear in any discomfort.
Charlie Constable continues to recover from a nasty head injury suffered on Monday, while Sam Simpson (hamstring) didn’t join in the main session.
After a year in which training has often been limited to small sessions squashed in short turnarounds, Selwood said having some time in the middle during the bye week was a welcome change.
“We are probably appreciating it more than we have in the past because we haven’t been able to do it too much,” the skipper said. “We have been in small groups for long periods of the year, so when you do get to train together it’s pretty exciting.”
The Cats finished with a smile as all players and staffers got together on the Southport Sharks Oval for a group photo.
The main training was one of two big sessions before Thursday night’s game, with the Cats to train under lights on Saturday night.