Makeshift magic
WHEN news broke of the fiveyear deal Mark Blicavs signed at Geelong last week it raised more than a few eyebrows in the AFL industry.
Five-year contracts for 27year-olds are rare, and many people were quick to suggest players would be on the phone to Blicavs’ father and manager Andris to see if he could help secure them similar arrangements.
But those at Geelong know what they are doing and it speaks to the foresight of guys such as Simon Lloyd and Stephen Wells who are thinking long-term with Blicavs and others after their stunning starts to 2018.
It also illustrates perfectly how the Cats have managed to make the most of the restrictions around clubs on drafting and trading in recent years.
They have been more than willing to look outside the usual breeding grounds for talent and there are ample cases of this if you go through the side from Sunday’s 21-point win against Collingwood.
Three years ago Tom Stewart was running around for South Barwon in the GFL.
Now he is routinely having his name raised as a contender for an All-Australian guernsey at the end of the season.
If he isn’t leading the Carji Greeves Medal count at the moment then the people giving votes aren’t watching the same game as everybody else.
Stewart has taken his game to new heights this year and is forming part of one of the best defences — only Richmond and North Melbourne have conceded fewer points.
Only time will tell what playing seven games of football without Harry Taylor has done to his development but he has thrived in the absence of the veteran defender and also Lachie Henderson.
Jack Henry is another member of the improvised defence and was plucked from the rookie list for his debut in Round 2 after finishing 15th in the Geelong VFL best-andfairest in 2017 playing on a flank.
He is firming as a NAB Rising Star fancy with every match and looks more than capable of shutting down some of the premier forwards.
That pair — along with Blicavs, Jake Kolodjashnij, Jed Bews and Zach Tuohy — has formed a strong bond in the opening rounds of the season, but the makeshift nature of the Cats team in the wake of injuries to key players did not happen by accident and is not isolated to the backline.
It extends up the field and perfectly complements the Agrade talent of Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and Mitch Duncan in the middle of the ground.
He has only played eight games but it would not be too far of a stretch to suggest that Tim Kelly is at A-grade level already such is the impact he has had in that short time.
But it is another product of the WAFL system that often goes unnoticed.
Sam Menegola is on his third chance at AFL level after stints with both Hawthorn and Fremantle on their rookie lists.
Since making his debut in Round 18 against Adelaide, Menegola has missed just three matches for the Cats.
In that time he has averaged 23.5 disposals and nearly a goal per game, as well as more than five tackles and four inside-50s, and nearly five marks and three clearances.
His game against the Pies was typical of a player that thrives in tight situations with an appetite for the contest.
Menegola spoke glowingly after the game of another teammate having a crack at a third AFL club, Stewart Crameri, who, like Blicavs and Henry, has been brought to the club via the rookie draft.
The numbers might not have suggested it, but Crameri held his own on Sunday and contributed greatly to Geelong’s pressure through the middle and in attack.
He will only get better with more game time and, like so many of this Cats side that is blended together by a melange of elite talent and those at the last chance saloon, his selection is proving to be a shrewd one.