Cats bonded on the way to 2009 flag

An old-fashioned bonding session has emerged as a key moment in Geelong’s AFL premiership campaign.

The Cats themselves usually frown on the exercise, where players have a social get-together.

Bonding sessions have become much lower-profile in rugby league because of the negative image involving alcohol.

But it proved a circuit-breaker for the Cats the day after their round-21 loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Matthew Scarlett, one of Geelong’s best and most influential players, had already suggested the idea before the match.

Scarlett spoke to his team-mate in a huddle on the ground immediately after the final siren and they gathered the following day at his property near Torquay.

The event is detailed in a new book called “The Mission 2″, which goes behind the scenes of Geelong’s 2009 premiership.

An excerpt from the book published in Saturday’s Herald Sun detailed what happened.

“(Scarlett) said to us he knew the idea was basically everything we are against, as we like to be very professional and we don’t endorse bonding sessions, but when things aren’t necessarily working you have got to try something different,” Geelong captain Tom Harley is quoted in the book as saying.

“I can say easily that Scarlo is the most influential player on the list and the fact it was his suggestion carried a lot of weight.

“I said to him and to the group, `just get out of the day what you need to get out of the day’.

Some players did not touch alcohol during the day-long session.

“It was a bit of a grind there for a few weeks so I just wanted to enjoy each other’s company, get that closeness back and realise that we were still in a good position,” Scarlett said.

“We were going to finish second and had a great opportunity to win another flag.”

Key players such as Cameron Ling and Jimmy Bartel said the team needed to unwind in the midst of a stressful season.

“It had been a hard year, not an enjoyable year, because we had never done anything socially together,” Ling said.

“It was just business, business, business all the time.

“It wasn’t about going and having a drinking session, it was about the boys getting together and hanging out.

“Playing a game of baseball, having a punt and spending time together – just to realise that we are actually all good blokes and all good mates.”

While there were obviously many other factors behind Geelong’s win over St Kilda in the grand final, it is notable that the Bulldogs game was their last loss of the season.

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