Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield’s doubts on future as skipper throws the Cats succession question

There was little commitment from Patrick Dangerfield this week when asked he if will captain the Cats in 2025. But behind him and vice-captain Tom Stewart, the cupboard is surprisingly bare.

It is not quite the kind of spill federal politics specialised in last decade, but Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield put his captaincy position up for grabs this week.

The Cats will ease their way into a decision on the 2025 skipper early next year but for the first time in recent memory, the cupboard is looking slightly bare at Kardinia Park.

Asked if he would put his hand up to captain the Cats for a third season, Dangerfield said he was “not sure to be honest”.

Patrick Dangerfield leads the team off. Picture: Mark Stewart

Dangerfield has been flanked by Tom Stewart in the two seasons since Joel Selwood retired as the longest serving skipper in VFL/AFL history, as the Cats opted for a slimmed down official leadership group.

Beyond those two sits a vacuum of sorts – and cats hate a Dyson.

Mark Blicavs (will turn 34 next season), Mitch Duncan (34) and Cam Guthrie (33) are edging towards the end.

Tom Hawkins and Zach Tuohy hit that end this year.

Max Holmes has some aspirations but is still just 22 years old and has some maturing to do.

“I am at that stage where I am probably due to step up in a sense,” he said this week.

The Cats have hopes for Tanner Bruhn and Max Holmes. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Sam De Koning is softly spoken, Tanner Bruhn is finding his feet in Geelong, and Jhye Clark has leadership potential but has to be focused on getting a game first.

The middle age band on Geelong’s list is full of good players and good teammates, but few jump out as captain material.

Zach Guthrie has come along in leaps and bounds in recent years but is still a quiet guy, Brad Close, Jack Henry and Jack Bowes are similar.

Gryan Miers is a different thinker on the game and happy to take media assignments but it’s rare to see small forwards as leaders.

Irishman Mark O’Connor was added to Geelong’s leadership group back in 2020 but he has been perennially on the fringes of selection.

Tom Atkins is a leader but right now is dealing with a court case in which he was charged with careless driving.

Stewart will turn 32 in March and is signed to the end of 2027, so he looms as the next bridge to those younger players.

Geelong’s recruiting has been masterful in recent years but while the talent brought in has helped on field, few of the players have oozed leadership.

Jeremy Cameron is a great locker room presence, Tyson Stengle is a star on field but not as a leader, and new pair Bailey Smith and Jack Martin are not putting their hands up either.

There will be no backstabbing like Labor’s famous Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years in Canberra, but a discussion will be held in January and February.

That chat seems likely to fall on the same two names it has for the last two years: Stewart and Dangerfield.

The Dangerfield-Stewart brains trust. Picture: Brad McGee/Cats Media

Geelong has locked itself in on doing what it takes to win now for a decade and that won’t change.

“I think it is about the right person for the job for next year,” Dangerfield said.

Soft tissue injuries cost Dangerfield five games in 2023 and nine of the first 13 this year, and those injuries are unlikely to go away.

The Cats haven’t gone to co-captains since the mid-1990s, when a range of players – Gary Ablett Sr, Ken Hinkley, Garry Hocking, Barry Stoneham – cycled through the role.

But perhaps for 2025, the best call for the now is a joint arrangement with Dangerfield and Stewart, which essentially has been in place anyway.

As always, the Cats will prepare new leaders but they will truly worry about the future in the future.

Originally published as Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield’s doubts on future as skipper throws the Cats succession question