The Cats’ thrilling loss last Saturday night may have used up the last of their lives. Never has a 13-match winning streak been followed by such an empty bandwagon. Instead of awe at the achievement, the prevailing feeling has been that it could all have been so different.
In round one against St Kilda, the unlikely figure of Darren Milburn – defender, substitute, and oldest man on the ground – snapped a goal with 20 seconds left to give Geelong a one-point win.
Carlton’s Robert Warnock missed a last-gasp sitter that would have given the Blues the lead, as the Cats won by two.
Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury had a late play-on goal disallowed under the advantage rule, while the subsequent set shot was shanked. Cats by three.
Fremantle kicked themselves out of a contest to lose late by 11. Hawthorn failed to score in the last quarter, as they coughed up a lead to lose by five.
In a different year, with thirty seconds’ worth of different luck, the Cats could have been 7-5, and on the commentators’ slide.
Betting agencies have been behind them – their last two weeks saw them yielding five cents for a win – but fans and experts alike have been denying them any hype.
The Essendon match was a typically Geelong never-say-die performance, coming back from 33 points down at three-quarter-time.
In one of the finest final quarters you could hope to see, twelve goals were traded as the Cats went down by four points.
Yet despite collecting 111 fewer possessions than their opponents, and Essendon’s impressive intensity, it was really only a few soft misses versus Essendon’s accuracy that kept the Cats from a win.
Nor was it any coincidence that this was their first match this year without Joel Corey.
Two All-Australian guernseys hardly lets you be called underrated, but Corey has rarely attracted the attention of Joel Selwood or Geelong’s Brownlow medallists.
But he’s been a crucially reassuring presence in so many of Geelong’s tight moments this year.
The view from the galleries, and from premiership betting, seems to be that the Cats are just solid contributors, destined to make up the numbers after Collingwood.
If they lose over in Perth tonight, except the obituaries to come out. A noble but ageing side finding the season too long for their legs to endure.
And yet… and yet. Watching them each week, I’m getting the feeling instead that these Cats have been keeping their powder dry.
They haven’t been caught up in the delirium of being the next big thing. They haven’t been huffing the paint fumes of Daisy Thomas’ acrobatics.
Even glamorous Cats like Steve Johnson and the new boy Daniel Menzel have had an air of determination, like all they want to do is get the job done.
Old hands Paul Chapman, Corey, and Jimmy Bartel have had the intensity of sunrays through diamond.
And despite the focus on age, the Cats had seven players with less than 20 games of experience take the field on Saturday night, with other debutants earlier this year.
Those new players have slotted right into the game plan, and along with coach Chris Scott, have given the stalwarts the refresher towelette they needed.
Then there’s the feeling that the team hasn’t gone all out at a match this season, at least tactically. While they give their everything in terms of effort, they’ve seemed in control, content to test facets of their game-plan rather than fret about results.
There is definitely the hint of things held in reserve.
You get the feeling that when finals come around, particularly if Collingwood are involved, Geelong will have Plan A through Plan DM-3811(b) ready to go.
In this sense, a loss or two will suit them quite well. A snug number two position means they can ride in Collingwood’s slipstream, taking all the advantage with none of the glare.
In reality, no-one was less concerned about Saturday’s result than about thirty guys in blue and white.
The bandwagon may be sparsely populated, but one crucial thing is clear. The Cats don’t think they’re in with a chance this year.
They genuinely believe this premiership can be theirs, with three wins over five dominant years cementing them as one of the all-time great sides.
As long as they believe it, it’s hard not to go with them.
Follow Geoff Lemon on Twitter: @GeoffLemonSport
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