Geelong coach Chris Scott predicts Patrick Dangerfield can continue playing at elite standard for another five years
He won a Brownlow Medal in 2016 and Patrick Dangerfield’s coach Chris Scott expects the 250-gamer will still be one of the game’s best players almost a decade on. Here’s what makes the Geelong champ so well respected.
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The drinks were flowing as anxious AFL officials started to look at their watches.
It was 10pm and the best players in the game had gathered for dinner ahead of the following night's pre-season extravaganza AFLX.
Buses to take them back to their respective hotels were scheduled to leave in half-an-hour but the room was buzzing as players from different teams got the rare opportunity to catch up over a beer or two.
Patrick Dangerfield, who was the captain of Team Bolts, rose from his chair and briefly called for quiet before delivering a thankyou speech to the AFL for the evening.
“Let’s play well, give the fans a really good showing, let's respect it and finish up in the next hour or so,” Dangerfield said.
He then added: “I'm going to bed.”
A few metres away at the bar, his Geelong teammate Mark Blicavs was watching the speech surrounded by 60 shots of various alcoholic substances.
In his mind, and that of almost every other player in the room, the party was just starting.
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Dangerfield knew that but he's never followed the pack. The 2016 Brownlow medallist has always walked to the beat of his own drum.
It's not that he's a party-pooper, in fact the Cats star loves nothing more than holding court in the locker room, revving up teammates or engineering the odd practical joke.
But he is different.
One of his best mates Josh Jenkins describes him as a unicorn which can have a number of different meanings but the relevant one here is: “A unicorn is a mythical creature, someone amazing who is hard to catch or simply a very rare find.”
Jenkins met Dangerfield when they played together at the Adelaide Crows and along with Tom Lynch, the trio were inseparable.
Last year he followed him to Geelong and on the club's website to celebrate his friend's 250th game, Jenkins provided a glimpse into the world of Dangerfield
”Pat has always been mature – or boring – beyond his years,” Jenkins wrote.
“At age 23, we spent most training-free afternoons at his place drinking cups of tea and watching him clean up after us before we’d even left the premises.”
He also added: “Patrick Dangerfield, would rather launch his boat into the waters off Geelong’s surf coast than down a few beers at the pub.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott enjoys sitting down for a cuppa with his superstar midfielder because he will most likely learn something new from the conversation.
“We are very different, almost completely opposite when it comes to a lot of things,” Scott says.
“He's got a quirky sense of humour and some of the things he does publicly … any sort of criticism he gets is water off a duck's back.
“I'm pretty private and don't put myself out there much deliberately but that's not Patty. I just don't think it's my role to change that, he is who he is.
“I can't think of an example where I've thought, 'Patty you're putting yourself in front of the footy club', or the self-promotion is detrimental to the rest of it.”
The only time Scott has been slightly concerned was when Dangerfield was recently copping heat in his role as the Players' Association president.
“He's a really courageous ambassador, not just for the footy club but even for the Players' Association,” Scott said.
“My position is we have to protect you and you have to protect yourself more but in true Patty style he says, 'Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, if I have to take one for the team I'll take it. They're not going to get me down, I'm going to stand up for what I believe is right'.
“You can't undersell how tough he is and how strong in his convictions he is.”
Two things surprised Scott when Dangerfield arrived at Kardinia Park in 2015 after 154 games with the Crows – his durability and the way he bonded with captain Joel Selwood.
While he can throw in the odd theatrical midgame resurrection after looking to be wounded, his ability to play through injury and front up week after week gets him a lot of credit with his coach.
Dangerfield, 30, has missed just 11 games in 11 seasons and only five in the last nine years.
“I didn't know that he was quite this good and his durability surprised me a bit,” Scott said. “There was no reason to think he wasn't durable but he's genuinely tough too.”
The coach's concern with the Selwood situation was more about how the chemistry would work having two big dogs in the same kennel so to speak.
“The thing I admired was there was a bit of a risk when he came in, Joel Selwood being the captain and highest paid player and that the chemistry might not be there,” Scott said.
“I knew Joel would handle it because I knew him so well but I didn't know Patty as well.
“Without much guidance from me, Patty just threw his whole being behind the captain and developed a really good relationship really quickly.
“I had some concerns as it wouldn't be the first time that there is kind of a bit of professional jealousy between the incumbent and the new guy.
“But everything was about getting behind Joel, he's the leader, let's support him.”
Scott is predicting Dangerfield will be still playing at an elite standard at 35.
“He enjoys the work and he just loves footy as well,” he said.
“One of the biggest issues is you just get jaded with the game the longer you go on and it wears you down but with Patty his willingness for the work and his resilience in the way he lives his life.
“I think he will be able to put up with it more than most.”
Dangerfield believes he's currently in the sweet spot of his career.
“When I first started playing I had a junior coach, Leon Harris, who has done some recruiting at the Brisbane Lions of late. His philosophy was, ‘You haven’t made it until you’ve played 100 games’," he said.
“I’ve always sort of carried that philosophy. And from 26 to now is when footy felt almost the easiest.
“You’ve been in the system long enough, you understand the game, your knowledge of the game is far better than when you first started, which is just natural.
“Your body has acclimated to the crash and bash of AFL footy and you’ve really understood what it takes for you to get up each week from a physical standpoint.”
And as we know that involves … no late nights and tequila shots.
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Originally published as Geelong coach Chris Scott predicts Patrick Dangerfield can continue playing at elite standard for another five years