This pack on the attack
THEY call themselves ‘The Wolfpack’.
Geelong’s new-look forward line has been set up with pressure and tackling at its forefront and, like a pack of wolves, they work together and hunt in numbers.
Before this season, only three members of The Wolfpack as it stands had played together at AFL level, and only one was a regular inside the Cats’ attack last year.
It is still early, but Chris Scott’s offensive overhaul is showing signs of a coaching masterstroke.
“I think the outcome we were looking for was always clear but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” Scott said.
They say fortune favours the brave, though, and Geelong went into last year’s trade and free agency period with a clear objective as they signed Western Bulldogs’ Luke Dahlhaus and Sydney’s Gary Rohan to help bolster attack.
Frustrated by years of inconsistency in their forward line-up, the Cats knew they needed some senior bodies who could stay on the park and perform.
Geelong had played the same group of seven forwards just twice last season.
“That wasn’t by design,” Scott said.
“A couple of times maybe there were selection decisions but if you go through the injury list — (Nakia) Cockatoo, (Esava) Ratugolea, (Lincoln) McCarthy — there were guys that we wanted to play that just weren’t available.”
Cats’ favourite son, Gary Ablett, had spent significant time in the midfield last year but was told over summer he would be based in attack this season in what Scott described as a “short conversation”.
“He’s really committed to helping the team where we think he’s best served,” Scott said of Ablett.
“Most of the discussion was around how he can maximise his performances in those roles and I think we’ve seen the first few rounds he’s been among the best players on the ground in that (forward) role.”
Club medical and fitness staff worked to get key forward Esava Ratugolea fit for Round 1 after he had missed the second half of last season with a broken leg, while the final two pieces of The Wolfpack puzzle for Round 1 were already in the wings.
Tom Atkins was selected at pick 11 in last year’s rookie draft, having been under the Cats’ nose as a member of their VFL program for the previous five years.
Fellow small forward Gryan Miers was listed in the 2017 national draft via pick 57, but like Atkins spent the whole of last year in the VFL.
“They’re different situations,” Scott said of Atkins and Miers.
“Gryan’s a young player who proved that he could hit the scoreboard at TAC Cup level and had a year to develop on our list and had a flawless pre-season and forced his way in.
“There’s two ways to look at Tom — either it’s a great story that he’s taken his chance after being overlooked at a few drafts or that we got it wrong and we’ve wasted a couple of years with him on our VFL team.”
Miers, who has five goals from his first three AFL games, said the connectivity The Wolfpack had built so quickly had been good to see.
“It’s pretty exciting how well it’s worked so far but we’ve got to keep it going,” Miers said.
“We complement each other well. We’re all different types and different styles of players but it seems to be working pretty well so far.
“For myself it’s really about keeping my mind in the game and not getting distracted. You might not get a disposal for a quarter but if your head’s in the game, you’re ready when it does come your way.”
After four rounds, Geelong is atop the ladder and ranks as the second-highest scoring team in the competition, averaging 93 points a game.
The Cats also rank first for inside-50s per goal, kicking a major from 3.6 forward 50 entries.
Dahlhaus ranks eighth in the competition for overall tackles with 26, Rohan is averaging a career-best 1.8 goals a game and Ablett ranks elite in his position for score involvements at 7.5 a game. Atkins ranks fourth at the club for pressure acts and Miers ranks equal-third for goals.
It’s not yet Round 5, but The Wolfpack is quickly making its presence felt.