It’s been a rollercoaster first half of the season for Geelong with a mixture of impressive wins and disappointing losses.
Despite the ups and downs, the Cats still sit fifth on the ladder with a healthy percentage and a great record at home.
With a good mixture of top-end talent and exciting youth, it remains a strong candidate for a deep September push.
The Holy Trinity
Much has been made of Geelong’s star-studded midfield consisting of Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and Gary Ablett, after the latter made the move back from Gold Coast in the off-season.
After missing four games earlier in the year, Ablett has played the past two, with last week’s performance his best of the season. He collected 37 disposals and kicked three goals.
Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield has had a solid season to date, despite spending more time forward compared to previous years.
The 28-year-old is averaging 27.6 disposals per game, and just over one goal.
The skipper Joel Selwood is often the one overlooked, but is far more consistent than Ablett and Dangerfield.
Selwood is averaging 27.4 disposals per match, highlighted by 39 touches in Round 1 and 33 just last week, and is willing to put his body on the line for the betterment of his team.
Half-back dominance
With the retirement of Tom Lonergan and Andrew Mackie, and the injury to Harry Taylor, Geelong’s backline has been undermanned this season.
However, the emergence of Tom Stewart and the continued strong form of Zach Tuohy has made its half-back line tough to penetrate.
A mature-age recruit, this is Stewart’s second season and a break-out one too.
In the 21 games he played last season, Stewart averaged 14.7 disposals per game, and through 11 matches in 2018, he’s averaged 21.4.
He’s formed a strong partnership with Tuohy, who has continued to look more and more comfortable in the blue and white hoops since he moved from Carlton at the end of 2016.
With utility Mark Blicavs temporarily filling the hole at centre half back, the duo is making it very difficult for opposition sides to get it inside 50.
The Geelong fortress
It may have received a number of name changes over the years, but regardless of what it has been called, GMHBA Stadium has always remained a fortress for the Cats.
They’ve won 11 of their past 13 matches at their spiritual home, with the unique dimensions often causing headaches for visiting sides.
The ground is extremely narrow, but surprisingly longer than the MCG and Etihad Stadium, measuring 170 metres by 115 metres.
It’s 13.8 metres thinner than Etihad Stadium, and 26 metres thinner than the MCG.
The hostile, often sold-out crowd, creates an environment similar to an interstate ground, despite it being just one hour down the road from Melbourne.
