Fort won the race for Round 1, Stanley won a hold of the first choice ruck position, while Mark Blicavs became a ruck/wing hybrid from Round 8.
The retirement of Harry Taylor could send Mark Blicavs back in defence next season, so the Geelong coaching staff will again have much to ponder ahead of 2021.
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There's a new face on the scene as well, with the Cats securing the signature of 202cm, 18-year-old Australian basketballer Paul Tsapatolis as a Category B rookie.
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Stanley regularly hit the scoreboard and managed his highest goal per game average for Geelong in reduced quarters while also making his presence felt around the clearances.
With both Darcy Fort and Rhys Stanley unavailable for selection in Round 8, Geelong turned to Mark Blicavs to solve its ruck dilemma.
The 198cm Cat’s ruckwork was stellar, recording the highest hitout win percentage and second highest hitout to advantage percentage of the club’s three recognised ruckmen.
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The endurance athlete was able to work opposition rucks over with his gut running which was a valuable weapon for the Cats.
Fort won the preseason battle for the number one ruck role, entering round one against the Giants as Geelong’s go to big man.
When Stanley went down with a knee injury after round three, Fort regained his role only to suffer bone stress in his foot after four games.
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Ratugolea's ruck involvement has stayed on a part-time basis for the present, reaching double-digit hitouts for the first time this season against Collingwood in Geelong's semi final encounter.
His one opportunity at senior level came when Rhys Stanley was a late omission against the Bombers in Round 16, and Jenkins performed admirably on short notice.
Given the Cats traded pick 37 for Jenkins and Adelaide’s future third round selection, the support role and veteran presence offered was a beneficial one for the Cats.
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De Koning had 11 hitouts, 10 disposals and six marks, rotating between the backline and the on-ball role, which brother Tom plays at Carlton.
I trained a little bit of it earlier in the week, just to get prepared. I like to think I'm the type of player who can play different positions, wherever 'Scotty' (coach Chris Scott) wants me, I can play, De Koning told
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I like playing footy, but being around the ball all the time is a pretty exciting thing and it keeps me in the game. But as I said, any position 'Scotty' wants me to play is good for me.
De Koning has had a rough start to the season, missing Round 4 through concussion, also dealing with a knee injury in the Round 1 loss to Collingwood and copping a big knock against Carlton the following week.
With the Cats coasting to a thumping 93-point win over Sydney, De Koning admitted it was hard not to enter self-preservation mode when the game was well and truly in the bag.
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It's hard to not think about it when we're up by so much in the last quarter, you don't want something to happen, but it's good to put a couple of games together and get my body right.
Construction on its new stand prevented Geelong from hosting a game at GMHBA Stadium before the weekend's Round 6 clash, meaning the Cats unfurled their premiership flag in the lead-up to the game against Grand Final opponent Sydney.
We don't really talk about [the Grand Final rematch] too much, 'Scotty' likes to keep it pretty present. We go into the week looking at what they're good at, and they're a really good team, he said.
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I thought we went out there and executed really well. We don't really pay into it too much, but we remember how the club has gotten into the position it has, and we really respect the players, staff and board who have come before us. It's really good to be in the position that we are, and I'm just lucky to be playing a game.
There's nothing better than being home. I woke up this morning, and walked my dog on the beach, had a look at the surf, got a coffee and just moseyed on up to the ground.
It's only 20-minute drive from Torquay for me, so it's good to be home and not have to travel. It's just a great place to be and we think we can play it really well.
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It was a grand final notable for Geelong’s game-killing burst in the first quarter and the underwhelming showing of the Swans. The more seasoned and composed Cats were propelled by super-veterans Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins, their iron skipper Joel Selwood at the opening and, from start to end, imported ex-Hawk Isaac Smith, who claimed the Norm Smith Medal for best afield.
The Cats booted 6.5 to 1.0 in a first quarter that, if not a complete knockout, had Sydney so wobbly that a come-from-behind victory was never realistic; if the Swans had the barest pulse at half-time, they were snuffed out in first 12 minutes of the third quarter, as the relentless Cats piled on four goals to turn the match into an utter romp.
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Recruit Tyson Stengle – a SANFL player last year and a symbol of this club’s capacity to nurture talent – booted a pair of memorable goals, his third and fourth, to trigger celebrations in the stands. A box-ticking final term ensued, in which sub Brandan Parfit kicked a goal, wunderkind full-back Sam De Koning booted the first of his career and, finally, Selwood had the fitting moment in what might be his last game, with Geelong’s 20th goal, as the blowout ballooned to 81 points.
“It’s coming home, back where it belongs, ” said Selwood on the MCG podium, as he accepted the premiership cup, Geelong’s 10th in the VFL/AFL and fourth since 2007. Selwood, as is his wont, left no one behind in his speech – from sponsors to the Swans, former coaches at Geelong and the fans who had flocked back. Selwood had even taken the field holding ex-champ and teammate Gary Ablett’s son, Levi.
This grand final represented a restoration – of Geelong’s position as the pre-eminent team and club and of the grand final at the MCG after two COVID-impaired seasons and forced relocations of the finals. It also was the Cats’ 16th consecutive victory, matching the run of the Brisbane Lions team of 2001, in which Geelong coach Chris Scott played.
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For Geelong and Scott, this result was a day of vindication, Scott having been subjected to constant and baffling criticism since 2015 for Geelong’s finals failures, the ire often coming from his own tribe despite the highest winning ratio in history and eight top-four finishes – extraordinary in an equalised competition. He has won flags 11 years apart.
Geelong’s willingness to retain and recruit older players – such as Norm Smith medallist Smith – also stands vindicated, considering this was the oldest premiership team yet, and the contributions of those aged over 30; the Cats had refused to take their lumps and go backwards, as the system demands.
Crucially, in what will be noted most by envious rivals, Geelong have managed to persuade key players to accept fewer dollars, with Dangerfield, Hawkins and Selwood all understood to be playing for well below market rates in their dotage. Ditto for gun defender Tom Stewart and even ex-Giant superstar Jeremy Cameron.
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In taking the Norm Smith Medal with his second team, Smith, 33, became a four-time premiership player. He relished the spaces of the ’G to garner 32 disposals, 11 forward entries, 14 score involvements and four goals, two of them in the first quarter when the match was alive; his game – and the result – will prompt mixed feelings in Hawthorn hearts.
Skipper Selwood joined Smith in the four-flag club, the first Geelong player to do so, in his record 40th final (beating Hawk Michael Tuck) and was among the catalysts for the opening blitz with a dozen disposals.
If Selwood chooses to retire, as many think likely, he will bow out as he began his career in 2007 – as a premiership player and warrior nonpareil.
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Whereas the Melbourne flag of last year prompted dynasty predictions – by the Demons, largely – and prior premiers often carry that expectation, the large body of 30-plus players in Geelong’s team and the age of champions meant that this premiership was more the culmination of a super era than the beginning of one.
That said,