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Opinion
Geelong Cats finished third on the ladder in 2021, with 16 wins and six losses, just behind Port Adelaide Power, who had a worse percentage but an extra win to their name.
In the qualifying final Port Adelaide doubled Geelong’s score, but the Cats took advantage of the double chance by defeating Greater Western Sydney in the semi-final.
Unfortunately they were beaten comprehensively by the eventual premiers, the Melbourne Demons, in the preliminary final. Since the loser of the other preliminary final was the Power, the Cats are fourth for the purposes of this exercise.
The Cats clearly believe that they are capable of winning the premiership, as they have the oldest list in the AFL in 2022, with an average age of 25.7 years. In the off-season they recruited 31-year-old ruckman Jonathon Ceglar and small forward Tyson Stengle.
(Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Media/via Getty Images)
It’s a big season for the Cats, as they need to be in the mix for premiership contention to vindicate their list management strategy.
Jack Henry will be integral if Geelong are to be in contention. It’s remarkable that he finished second in the side’s best and fairest in 2021 but missed out on the AFL All Australian squad of 40. He averaged the second most intercepts of any Cats player, with an average of 5.96 per game.
Henry featured in 24 of 25 games and the team’s highest average disposal efficiency percentage, with an average of 86.00 per cent. He doesn’t waste many possessions.
Henry generally starts in the back pocket and Mark Blicavs generally starts at fullback – or centre halfback when Tom Stewart is injured. Given Stewart is back from injury and Henry is reliable, Blicavs will be allowed to use his versatility, as he did last year, when he averaged 11.79 hit-outs per game.
Jeremy Cameron needs to improve on his consistency in 2022. In eight games last year he kicked two goals or fewer, and in four of those the Cats lost. Two of those losses were to the Demons.
In particular Cameron needs to improve his contested marking, as he plays centre half-forward and averaged the tenth most contested marks per game of any Cats player, with an average of 0.73 per game.
Cameron may have averaged the most goals per game of any Cats player, with an average of 2.60 per game in the 15 matches he played in 2021, but he needs to improve.
He kicked three goals or more in only seven matches, but only three of those were against top-eight sides. He needs to lift in 2022, as the Cats paid a hefty price to get him to the football club.
(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Tom Stewart was a pivotal part of the Geelong back six in 2021. He was rewarded for his form by being selected in the back pocket of the All Australian final team. He managed to win the Geelong best and fairest despite featuring in only 20 out of the 25 games they played. That’s how important he is to the team.
Stewart’s impact on the Cats as a team can be substantiated statistically. He averaged the most intercepts on average of any Cats player in 2021. He also averaged the most metres gained per game of any player in the side.
Stewart used the ball well, with an average disposal efficiency of 84.79 per cent. That’s despite averaging an impressive 24 disposals per game in 2021 – he didn’t only have a lot of the ball, but he was constructive with it.
The Cats won only two of five games Stewart missed through injury in 2021. They need to find a way to be less reliant on him if they are to taste the ultimate success in 2022.
Sam Menegola’s influence on the team is underrated. He featured in 23 of 25 games in 2021; the Cats won the two matches he missed by a combined total of just a goal.
Geelong won seven out of the nine games in which Menegola hit the scoreboard with at least a goal. He averaged the fifth most metres gained of any Cats player, with an average of 387.17 per game. He averaged 4.78 score involvements per game, which he can improve on.
Menegola isn’t a household name compared with Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield, but he may well become one. Despite playing on the wing, he was still able to average an impressive 8.04 contested possessions per game in 2021. He’s a game changer and will be integral to Geelong’s premiership chances in 2022.
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