Off the back of the 2022 flag, Geelong were once again expected to compete strongly this year. But with a round to go, a series of crucial losses and key absentees mean their defence is already over, write Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson.
Less talked about, and perhaps more important, is another absence from the Cats contest group. In recent years Cam Guthrie has increasingly come into his own, able to play a similar role to Selwood at his best.
Geelong's best contest set-ups last year often worked with one or two midfielders blocking for Dangerfield or Guthrie working downhill against overmatched defenders. That situation has been harder to engineer this year.In the first six weeks of the season, with Guthrie in the side, the Cats were one of the best clearance teams in the competition. Since then they have been about the worst.
On the eve of the season, Henry went down with a foot injury. The hopes were that he would return at some point this year but that hasn't eventuated. Scott's inventive defensive systems have been able to hide some of the damage, with sliding defenders covering across and denying one-on-one opportunities better than any other side. But one clear sign of their decline is their inability to kill aerial contests inside 50.
Throughout the year the Cats have been generally competitive, never really blown out and inflicting some big scores themselves. They're sitting with the sixth-best percentage with the fifth-most total points. Experience also isn't an issue, with a wealth of recent premiership talent on their books.
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