AFL 2024: Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield sheds light on his future, club expectations and the Cats impressing this pre-season
It was a tough first year as captain for Patrick Dangerfield. But the ageing superstar believes it will be a different story in 2024. Plus, he sheds light on his future and the Cats on the rise.
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Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield says he is enjoying footy more than ever and is “bloody confident” the Cats can respond after an underwhelming premiership defence.
Entering his seventeenth AFL season, Dangerfield, 33, told this publication he has extra appreciation for playing at the highest level given he is in the final chapter of his career.
The ageing superstar doesn’t view last year’s 12th-placed finish as a failure and believes a healthier list with the likes of premiership stars Cameron Guthrie and Jack Henry out there can help the Cats rebound.
Dangerfield himself had an injury interrupted campaign, missing four matches with a hamstring setback before suffering a partially collapsed lung and a cracked rib in his return game.
He conceded he was somewhat taken aback by the responsibility of the captain’s armband after taking over from champion Joel Selwood, the VFL/AFL record holder for games played as captain.
The five-year contract he signed in 2019 runs out at the end of this season and while Dangerfield would not be drawn on when he may pull the pin, he said he is still relishing his time at the Cats.
“I’m loving every session, every week’s training, there’s days where it is harder to get out of bed than others, but perhaps as you get older and you get towards the end you realise how special it is, how lucky you are, I am, to be involved in a club like Geelong. Closer to the end than the start but I’m loving it more than I ever have to be honest,” Dangerfield said.
“I’m confident with the few little tweaks that we’ve made and a bit more availability than we had certainly last year, things can change quickly. But we are up against it, as every team is, because every team is getting better. We’ve got a lot of improvement to make but I’m confident we can do it.
“They said Geelong couldn’t be taken down and it only took me 12 weeks,” he quipped.
“It was a really interesting year. It is a huge honour, a great privilege and I probably didn’t truly appreciate what it was like until you’re sitting in the seat and it’s a really humbling thing to have your name next to. Whilst it was a disappointing season in many respects on field and all that sort of stuff, I’m bloody confident that we can turn things around pretty quick.
“But I’d see it as a learning year, I don’t see any year ever as a failure, there’s always things that you learn. If you only ever consider a successful year as winning the grand final then it is a lonely existence if you play for a long period of time.”
Dangerfield said Geelong’s goal in 2024 is simple: win more games of footy.
“I can give you as many different clichéd answers but at the end of the day we are in the league of winners and losers and we need to win more than we lose. That what ultimately we will be judged on, I think that’s what most teams are judged on,” Dangerfield said.
“Yeah there’s organic growth and new players coming into the side and those sort of things, at the end of the day it is about winning and we need to do more of it.”
BREAKOUT CONTENDERS
There is plenty of chatter during the pre-season about the players who can go to the next level to give their side an edge – particularly those in the younger age bracket.
While Brandan Parfitt is no spring chicken at 25, Dangerfield is predicting the fringe midfielder to kick it up a notch this season.
It looms as an important year for Parfitt, who is uncontracted beyond this season, after a 2023 campaign where he managed just nine senior games – five of those games as the substitute – despite injury troubles to their midfield group.
Tanner Bruhn received more midfield time last season as a result of those sidelined stars, and Dangerfield has liked what he has seen from the dynamic small ahead of his second year as a Cat.
Same goes for ruckman Toby Conway, who showed exciting glimpses in his debut up against Tim English last season. And the Cats skipper expects the 206cm giant to get more senior exposure in 2024.
“Brandan Parfitt has had a fantastic pre-season, he looks really good running on top of the ground. His inside work, I feel like he is ready to really explode,” Dangerfield said.
“Tanner is the same, he is a bit younger obviously. I think he is in his fourth season, powerful in the contest, he is a beautiful kick and I’ve got high expectations what I think Tanner’s career can be by the time he finishes.
“And that’s just singling out two. I think we’ve drafted well as every team will say but there is some pretty exciting young kids there we have picked up and then there’s, not been forgotten, but some that have taken a bit more time. Toby Conway is probably one of those, he’s a man mountain and really competitive player and I think we are going to see a lot of footy from him.”
But perhaps the biggest uplift will come from two players Cats fans know all too well: one a premiership best-and-fairest, the other blanketed Lance Franklin in a grand final.
Dangerfield believes Guthrie, who managed just six senior games last year due to a troublesome toe injury, is capable of replicating his stellar 2022 campaign after spending valuable time in America this off-season.
“(Guthrie) spent some time in the States over in the off-season, spent some time training with some NFL quarterbacks and you’d think for someone who had been away for some time, his first session back he was pretty much best on track,” Dangerfield said.
“He is going to be like a new recruit for us in many ways, as is Jack Henry because we didn’t see them last year, best-and-fairest in a premiership year, and Jack one of our most important players as well. Both those two guys will be very welcome additions for season 2024.”
DRAFT STARS
Another handy recruit for the Cats over the off-season was VFL sensation Shaun Mannagh.
And while assistant coach James Kelly was reluctant to place any expectations on their new draftees, Dangerfield gave as good of an indication as any that Mannagh is going to play a key part in the Cats’ plans this season.
The 26-year-old speedster tore the state league competition to shreds, averaging 25 disposals and booting 40 goals – including a stunning six goals and 27 disposals in the grand final.
Geelong has shown that age is no barrier in recent seasons – and as Dangerfield pointed out, he is on the younger side compared to some on their list.
“He’s a little bit younger than we normally like but I suppose we might be able to find a spot for him,” Dangerfield chuckled.
“He’s a terrific fella Shaun, he might be as grey as what I am which is a bit concerning given he is only 26 and it’s only his first year at the Cats. But you can just see, the progression he has made over the last 12-18 months at the VFL level, he is ready to go and we feel like he can have a big influence on the way that we play.
“Really composed, beautifully clean off his feet – as you’d expect from someone who is four foot two. But we’ve got high hopes for him.”
Dangerfield also has big wraps on their other high-profile draftee, No. 10 pick Connor O’Sullivan.
He shaped as a potential Esava Ratugolea replacement when his name was called. Instead, he might be the second coming of Mark Blicavs with his size, athleticism and elite running ability.
In match-simulation late last year the versatile 198cm prospect was used in defence, in the ruck and on a wing at stages, and Dangerfield sees as another Mr Fix It.
“He has been uber-impressive, for someone that is 198cm, it continues to amaze me the players that come in now just how ready they are, how big they are, how tall they are. But I think more than the physical stuff for Connor, you can see that the way that he trains, he trains with purpose and like he belongs already,” Dangerfield said.
“To play key position early on in your career as a big fella is tough, I don’t necessarily see Connor as that big pillar early on, he is going to be able to play wing, halfback and further up the ground.
“That’s not to play down the importance of big and mobile players but they are pretty one-dimensional most of them – (Tom) Hawkins, (Jeremy) Cameron’s a bit better. Connor can play anywhere, so he is going to give us great flexibility.
“There is a bit about (the Blicavs comparison) to be honest. And that’s big wraps but he certainly gets the game earlier than what ‘Blitz’ has because he has played earlier.”
While O’Sullivan has just came through the junior ranks, it is close to two decades since Dangerfield ran out for his junior club Anglesea.
But he has maintained a strong connection with the Roos, who have entered an application for a Telstra Footy Country Grant.
The joint initiative from Telstra and the AFL allows eligible regional and metro clubs to apply for grants of up to $20,000.
“It is critical, it is one of tough things about Anglesea and no doubt other local clubs and rural clubs across the country, landlocked and clearly businesses have struggled post-Covid and these sorts of things so you can’t keep going back to the same well,” Dangerfield said.
“So something like this makes an enormous difference for clubs like Anglesea around the country.”
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