Ollie Dempsey on Geelong’s key off field moves, his contract

Rising Geelong star Ollie Dempsey has credited the club’s recruiting teams for helping rejuvenate the list as he declares it’s an “exciting time” to be with the Cats. Plus, his thoughts on his own future.

Ollie Dempsey in action. Photo: AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Rising Geelong star Ollie Dempsey has credited the club’s recruiting and list management teams for a “next wave” rejuvenation of the club as the Cats started the season reminding the competition of its multifaceted forward line.

Dempsey, along with the likes of Lawson Humphries and Shannon Neale, is a key part of the youthful vanguard which is up-ending perceptions that Geelong’s list was too old to challenge again after the 2022 flag.

Apart from a third term where Fremantle fought back to outscore the Cats six goals to one, Geelong destroyed the Dockers with a team lacking premierships veterans Mitch Duncan, Jed Bews and Rhys Stanley.

Top end pick Connor O’Sullivan also played his second game in the hoops while young midfielder Mitch Knevitt finished the game strongly with 21 possessions after a quiet start.

When asked if he felt like a torchbearer for that rejuvenation, Dempsey said it was simply an exciting time to be involved at Kardinia Park.

“Looking back, a couple of years ago, a lot of people, outside noise … were thinking we were older and we were,” Dempsey said.

“Credit to our recruiting and list management team for rejuvenating the list and having a lot of young players come in.

“It’s really exciting with the next wave that we have going on.

“We were a pretty young team on the weekend … there was a lot more youth coming through.”

Dempsey said it was one of the more dominant wins he had played in, but wasn’t surprised Fremantle staged a mini comeback in the third term.

“They’re a good team so they were always going to come back,” he said.

Dempsey, who finished the game with 15 touches and two majors, including a quintessential opportunistic major on the goal line, said he came in for a bit attention than 12 months ago, following his Rising Star Award win in 2024.

“I don’t think anyone coming into last year knew who I was,” he said.

He said Bailey Smith played a superb game on debut with the Cats, while Patrick Dangerfield would be a “weapon” forward of the ball.

Meanwhile, Dempsey, who is out of contract this year, wasn’t concerned about where those talks currently sat.

“I’m not too stressed about any of that, I love being at Geelong,” he said.

“This is where I’ll be and it’ll work itself in the coming weeks or months.”

Originally published as Ollie Dempsey on Geelong’s key off field moves, his contract