WRITE OFF CATS AT YOUR PERIL

Another year, same old question – will the ageing Cats fall off the cliff?

Some would argue they did last season after a limp premiership defence in which the club finished 12th and missed finals for the first time since 2015.

Injuries were significant in their 2023 campaign: premiership players Patrick Dangerfield, Jeremy Cameron, Tom Hawkins, Cameron Guthrie, Mitch Duncan, Rhys Stanley, Gary Rohan and Jed Bews all had interrupted campaigns.

Those experienced players have all had long breaks to freshen up this time, with Guthrie and Rohan the only outs in the final pre-season clash.

As has been said so many times, write off the Cats at your peril.

SELWOOD FACTOR

Joel Selwood led Geelong to a 10th premiership last time he took the field and he can help them push for another finals berth this season.

The 14,000-seat Joel Selwood Stand will be open for Geelong’s opening home game against St Kilda, raising GMHBA Stadium’s capacity to 40,000. Geelong has won 31 of its past 39 games at home and the boosted crowd will make it an even tougher away day for travelling sides.

Richmond heads down the highway for the first time since 2017, while Adelaide, GWS Giants and Port Adelaide also travel to the venue.

GUTHRIE REPLACEMENTS

Two-time Carji Greeves medallist Cameron Guthrie had been flying this pre-season after last year was wiped out by a toe injury but he pinged a quad in the opening seconds of the scratch match against Carlton, which is set to sideline him for two months.

But the Cats have been here before. They were forced to expose younger midfielders last season when Guthrie and Dangerfield went down and with another pre-season under their belts, they are destined go up a gear.

Tanner Bruhn’s agility, Jhye Clark’s two-way running and Max Holmes’ speed – when he’s not used at half-back – will be on show.

But can they compete with the competition’s best on-ball brigades?

DRAFT TALENT

Geelong went back to the well to regenerate their ageing list in last year’s draft, picking up seven players.

The one who has got the Cats talking the most is their top choice Connor O’Sullivan, with the versatile 198cm prospect even used on a wing at stages as well as down back.

He looks set to play a key role at some stage, as does Norm Goss medallist Shaun Mannagh, who can give the Cats forward half some extra spark after a dominant VFL season.