Geelong’s young defenders thriving after injuries to key players opened door, writes Patrick Dangerfield
MISFORTUNE breeds opportunity. Geelong has been forced to blood its youngsters without key defenders Lachie Henderson and Harry Taylor and it’s paying off in spades, writes PATRICK DANGERFIELD
Patrick Dangerfield
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MISFORTUNE breeds opportunity.
It’s one of the great things about our game and Geelong’s back six is a perfect example of this.
When Harry Taylor went down and joined Lachie Henderson on the sidelines, the consensus about the Cats was that we’d struggle given we’d also lost stalwarts Tom Lonergan and Andrew Mackie from last year.
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Fast forward to Friday night and that defensive unit, which we will christen “Scarlo’s Disciples”, is the driving force behind an impressive victory over the GWS Giants.
Assistant coach Matthew Scarlett has this bunch of unlikely heroes playing with a ruthless edge that was the hallmark of his incredible career.
No-one would have foreshadowed the line-up of Jed Bews, Mark Blicavs, Jack Henry, Jake Kolodjashnij, Tom Stewart and Zach Tuohy.
They all have their own unique stories to tell which should inspire many others.
Jack Henry was a rookie selection who spent last year learning his trade in the VFL.
On Friday night he took 11 marks, including five interceptions, against one of the flag favourites in just his sixth game.
He was our next man up and has grabbed the opportunity by backing himself and playing to this strengths which is reading the play and being that third-man up.
It takes courage to do that, to think “I’m going to leave my man and go for it” and it says a lot about Scarlo’s coaching that the 19-year-old kid has the confidence to do that.
I recently sat down with Tom Stewart and picked his brain about life as a mature-age recruit. I was about to speak at an event at Geelong Grammar and asked him if he regretted how he’d handled everything when he was an 18-year-old.
“I wish this was my seventh year rather than my second,” was his response.
He said if he had his time again he’d tell himself to believe more and if you want something then just embrace it.
What sets Tommy apart now is he wants to be better than good, he wants to be a leader at the club and wants to be the best half-back in the competition.
The Daniel Johns from Silverchair lookalike could be the new favourite of Geelong fans.
I think that famous chasedown on Buddy Franklin in last year’s finals series got him a lot of love and it’s just flowed on from there.
His tattoos are a point of discussion in the group with Zach Tuohy claiming Tommy copied his shin tattoo.
The Irishman has been an extraordinary acquisition who in just his second year at the club was elevated to the leadership group.
That says everything about him as he is a genuinely likeable and funny man who media outlets should be falling over each other to sign up.
There isn’t a better kick in the competition and a couple of weeks ago for his 150th game we watched some highlights and most of them were of him kicking goals from outside 50m.
Jed Bews was the best small defender in the competition in the second half of last year and he’s continued on that form.
He simply doesn’t get beaten one-on-one and his overhead marking is exceptional. Jed is also extraordinarily quick and apart from Nakia Cockatoo, he would be our fastest player at the club.
Real estate is his calling off the field and not many people would know that he seems to own half of Geelong.
Jake Kolodjashnij spent the majority of last year up on the wing and around the ball as we trialled a taller option throughout the midfield.
At 193cm and almost 100kg he’s a powerful athlete who has slipped seamlessly back into the defensive unit.
And then there’s Mark Blicavs who may have the worst fashion sense and hair style at the club but he would also be the most valuable member of the team at the moment.
His versatility has been there for everyone to see but this year he’s slotted in brilliantly at centre half-back where his running ability has become a weapon.
What other key defender in the competition runs 17km in a game?
The problem for his opponent is there is only so often you can hand over manning him up to that team defence. In the end you inevitably end up burning petrol by going with him because he puts himself in very dangerous positions.
Internally we have recognised what he’s done by filling gaps everywhere over the past couple of year and now the rest of the competition is getting on board.
Just as they’re starting to also embrace Scarlo’s Disciples.
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Originally published as Geelong’s young defenders thriving after injuries to key players opened door, writes Patrick Dangerfield