After Friday night’s loss against the Magpies, Geelong will miss out on finals for the first time since 2007.
It has been a magnificent era for the Cats. One that has netted them three premierships and made them the model to which other teams aspired.
The Cats were not just a team made up of champions, of which there were many, but they were also a champion team that will go down in Geelong’s history as inarguably their best – at least in terms of ultimate success.
The names of Jimmy Bartel, Steve Johnston, Corey Enright, Matthew Scarlet, Joel Selwood and company will forever be remembered as legends of the club, and rightly so.
However with as many as four of their premiership heroes tipped to retire at season’s end, the inevitable question that has been asked every year since the Cats won their last premiership in 2011 is bound to follow – is the era finally at an end?
This question was first asked way back in 2011 after Geelong had failed to make the grand final the previous year, and the subsequent surprise departure of Mark Thompson in the off-season.
Indeed in his media conference directly after Friday night’s loss, Thompson’s replacement Chris Scott was asked that same question – again.
“That question has been put to me ever since I arrived,” Scott replied.
“Where will we be next year in comparison to the rest of the competition, and as we’ve honestly said every year, we don’t know.”
There will no doubt be many who will write about the probable demise of the Cats next season, both in mainstream and social media.
Many will concentrate on the loss of so many experienced champions of the game, and that those that are left will be champions in name only, too old to back the tag up on game day consistently anymore.
They will point to the fact that for much of the year these veterans have been in Geelong’s best, and that many of their young players, while showing promise, have yet to reach the heights expected of them.
However what may escape the naysayer’s attention is that these younger players will have more of an opportunity to develop, as more responsibility is put upon them forced by the absence of their premiership stars.
Although they lost to Collingwood on Friday night, subsequently putting them out of finals contention, the Cat’s best players were Daniel Menzel, Mark Blicavs, Cameron Guthrie, JJake Kolodjashnij and Andrew Mackie.
Menzel was superb in his first game back after four knee reconstructions, and after such a performance first up it appears the faith shown by the Cats in the young forward will be paid back with a heavy amount of interest.
Blicavs is a freak, and that is by no means a derogatory statement. Given his rapid improvement this season the former steeple chaser could be anything. How many other teams can boast a player of his height, pace and athleticism?
Because of injuries Chris Scott has not been able to utilise Blicavs as he may have liked for much of this season. However the return of Nathan Vardy two weeks ago from his own long-term injury woes, and Rhys Stanley and Mitch Clark in 2016, will see him become even more dangerous to opposition teams in coming years.
It was reported in the media on Saturday that Steven Motlop has told the club he wishes to stay at the Cattery, and if that is the case, a midfield made up of himself, Mitch Duncan, Josh Caddy, Guthrie and skipper Selwood compares well with any other young midfield in the competition.
Tom Hawkins still has many years ahead of him, and no doubt will be better next season after having to deal with his mother’s death this year.
Jackson Thurlow, Darcy Lang, Cory Gregson and Jordan Murdoch have all shown glimpses this year, and as was mentioned previously should improve with more responsibility placed upon them, and another pre-season behind them. While the aforementioned Jake Kolodjashnij has improved in each of his eight games to date, and should develop into a very capable key defender.
Add to these any players that Geelong pick up during the draft and over the trade period, which according to rumour could be any or all of Patrick Dangerfield, Lachlan Hansen, Matthew Leuenberger and Scott Selwood, and the Cats are looking far from spent.
Yes, the inevitable question about Geelong’s place in the hierarchy of AFL clubs will come, and while it may very well be the end of an era, I wouldn’t be writing the Cats off just yet.
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