AFL 2024: Geelong star Cameron Guthrie reflects on his road back from injury, his off-season training trip to USA and emerging Cats midfielders
Cameron Guthrie hasn’t featured at senior level since April last year. He opens up on his troublesome toe injury, meeting an NFL quarterback and Geelong’s emerging midfield.
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It was Cameron Guthrie’s mission.
Unsighted at AFL level from round six after having his season wiped out by a troublesome toe injury that required surgery, Guthrie was fiercely committed to making his off-season his on-season.
While his teammates jetted off on overseas holidays, the 31-year-old headed over to the United States for a training block. But it wasn’t all hard work.
Guthrie also got to rub shoulders with some elite athletes, including Philadelphia Eagles NFL player and No. 2 pick of the 2015 NFL Draft Marcus Mariota.
A part of Netflix’s 2022 documentary ‘Quarterback’ – which also featured Super Bowl winning superstar Patrick Mahomes and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins – Mariota gave Guthrie all the time in the world as the Cats veteran picked his brain.
“I did a bit of a training stint over there and I was able to cross paths with some good athletes myself where I was based so it was good,” Guthrie told this publication.
“I did a bit with Marcus Mariota, he was on his bye week so he swung through and caught some balls from him so that was pretty epic. The Eagles ended up having a pretty good season so that was nice to chat to him and I guess learn a bit about his mindset and how he views his game and the values he holds. He was a really good guy and had a lot of time for me which I appreciated.
“I’ve kind of watched it since he came into the league so it was a pretty cool experience.
“The way I ended up looking at my season, that was kind of my off-season during the middle of the year, so when everyone went away for their official off-season I was hard at work training and trying to get back to a point where I am now, body feeling good. That was a bit of a mission of mine and it was a really good stint there so feeling prepared for what’s ahead.”
The dual Carji Greeves medallist’s hard work over the summer – and American winter – clearly has paid dividends.
Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield told this publication this month that Guthrie was “pretty much best on track at their first session”, while emerging midfielder Tanner Bruhn lauded Guthrie’s “amazing pre-season”.
He is eager to get stuck into as much match play as possible entering round one and expects to play in both of Geelong’s practice matches against Carlton and then Essendon.
But there were gruelling days, weeks and months gruelling dedicated to his recovery last season that has helped him get to this point.
“Personally I’m feeling really good. I had a frustrating season last year that didn’t eventuate the way I was thinking it would this time last year so to come in and the body’s feeling good, ticking a lot of boxes and I got back to play (VFL) at the end of last year so I kind of felt like I had a good season where I could attack it and overall, body’s feeling great,” Guthrie said.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A minor injury ended up derailing his 2023 season – something Guthrie just didn’t see coming.
Coming off a sensational campaign where he took out a best-and-fairest in a premiership year, Guthrie played through what was a seemingly innocuous concern at the time early in the season.
But his toe blow snowballed into a setback that forced him to go under the knife.
“I tried playing with it for a couple of weeks, it regressed I guess which was frustrating but sometimes that happens when you’re playing footy,” Guthrie said.
“You can sit and miss weeks with little things and that’s what it was at one stage, but kind of ended up derailing my year in the end and once surgery became an option and the avenue that we took, I guess it was always going to be more of a long-term thing.”
“I wish I could go back and avoid it all together but that’s not how footy works.”
A driven person and deep thinker, Guthrie didn’t let the frustration of the unfortunate setback get in his head.
Instead, he eyed a finals return and did everything is power to get back in time.
That included turning to ballet and foot exercises offered by the expertise of Dr Sue Mayes, The Australian Ballet’s Director of Artistic Health and Principal Physiotherapy.
His dedication saw him beat the initial timeline for his return and feature at VFL level for the Cats on August 19 – his first reserves game in four years.
Geelong’s season was still alive when Guthrie walked off the ground after 19 touches and seven clearances against the Giants. However, they were dashed hours later when St Kilda convincingly defeated the Cats by 33 points in round 23.
“(I) worked really hard, I had a lot of great people helping me behind the scenes, fitness and medical Darren Austin was one and Daniel Jones was the other that I really worked closely with and they were working with me daily to get me back,” Guthrie said.
“I was really keen, if we were to make finals, to not miss out on a finals campaign so that was a real kind of driver and real motivation for me. It ended up getting me back to a point where if we did make it I could have played but it wasn’t to be.
“At times (it was frustrating) but I was realistic about it too. I think footy is just a game where it is a physical game, it is a demanding game and I’ve been lucky where I’ve avoided too long stints on the sidelines so in a way I was just looking at it as my turn and a lot of my teammates go through the same thing every year so it wasn’t my year, but looking forward to hopefully changing that this year.
“Ballet isn’t necessarily a new thing for the club. We’ve kind of used Sue Mayes previously, I feel like I haven’t heard as much about it with the other guys, it’s been quite pointed at me but we’ve used her expertise and she’s been great, giving me plenty of exercises and I guess the lower limbs are kind of her specialty … It definitely helped me mentally.”
Guthrie recently featured in ‘Driven’, a documentary series with the Cats media team which shone on a light on his meticulous preparation and road back from injury.
He is excited to be out there in round one with a packed crowd in the newly opened Joel Selwood Stand, with stand memberships now available.
“Being out here on GMHBA Stadium with the new stand is going to be special and looking forward to some great crowds there. I think it is a really exciting time to get on board and I’m really excited to get out there in the hoops again,” Guthrie told the documentary.
NEXT WAVE
The silver lining of Guthrie’s injury-riddled season was the extra exposure it gave some of Geelong’s young talents.
Trade recruit Bruhn and speedster Max Holmes both received more time in the centre-square and got better as the year went on. And if it weren’t for a foot injury, it may have been the same for 2022 top-10 pick Jhye Clark.
Guthrie is excited by the potential of all three midfielders – and he has been tracking Bruhn for some time.
“I’ve been interested watching Tanner, he came and he trained with us when he was 17 as an AFL Academy representative and then I was like ‘wow, this kid is really skilful, really agile, great skill set,” Guthrie said.
An impressive showing in full-ground match simulation last week also caught Guthrie’s eye.
“He showed last year that he can be a really impactful for us so I think another year under his belt will really give him a good platform to have a good season for us.”
“Tanner looked really good, definitely (in that session). He looked strong, he looked powerful, some of his agility is really first class and not too many in the AFL can replicate that,” Guthrie said.
Holmes, like Guthrie himself, is out of contract at the end of the year with this publication reporting that Holmes is set to delay his decision as rivals circle.
Guthrie is hopeful that Holmes does recommit to the Cats and is bullish his prospects as an on-baller.
“I hope so, I love playing with Max,” Guthrie said.
“Talking about Max as a footballer, I think he’s got some great gifts. His speed and ability to break lines, he is really skilful, he has played a really important role as a winger for us over the last couple of seasons but I can really see him having a long-term career as a pure midfielder and I’m really excited to see what he can do this year and deep in his career.”
Another who may join Guthrie at centre-bounces this year is Clark, and Guthrie views him as a “10-plus year” player.
“I’ve got really high hopes for Jhye as a long-term Geelong player. As he was getting his opportunity last year he kind of got struck down with injury which I’m sure he would have been frustrated about, but we are looking for Jhye to be a good player in the short-term obviously but definitely a payer that Geelong can rely on for the next 10 plus years,” Guthrie said.
“I think he’s got the attitude, the skill set, he’s a really good competitor so I think those three things will really help him along in his journey and it’s just getting started. Exciting to see what it might hold for him.”
And could we see VFL excitement machine Shaun Mannagh add an extra dimension to their midfield mix? Perhaps, and Guthrie has liked from Mannagh in his first pre-season.
“Shaun has got a really good attitude, I think he is a really skilful player and he can impact too,” Guthrie said.
“I’ve been really impressed by what he has brought on the training track and definitely his attitude away from it too so I’m sure he’ll get his chance in the next couple of weeks during the practice match series and then hopefully during the season as well.”
ZACH ATTACK
While Guthrie had a season to forget, his brother had a career-best campaign.
Zach Guthrie was a reliable cog in the Cats defence, averaging 16 disposals and five intercepts on the way to a fourth-placed finish in the Carji Greeves Medal.
“Zach had a really solid season, I was really pleased with how he was able to compete consistently, I don’t think he missed a game for the season,” Cameron said.
“His aerial contests were really impressive, I thought he showed some great composure during the season and he is part of a backline group that is evolving and I think we’ll demand a lot out of this season, like all the positional groups.”
Cameron’s last full season in 2022 was one of his best and he believes he is capable of replicating it, despite his 32nd birthday coming up in August.
“Optimistically I feel like my body is really, really good, I have bounced back from this injury really well. I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything that I had that year and hopefully after a bit of time away and kind of watching more footy and watching our team in particular I can bring some things I guess I learnt over that period,” Guthrie said.
“But it is nice being back out on the track, nothing kind of beats that so it has been a nice period of training for me and consistently out there, so set myself up hopefully and the team up for a good season.”
And what about SuperCoach players considering him as a cut-price option in the midfield?
“Why not, I haven’t done that for a little while. The last time I checked out fantasy I was still at school but I’m feeling good, I’m good to go. If that helps anyone in their decision I hope that’s good for them,” Guthrie chuckled.
Originally published as AFL 2024: Geelong star Cameron Guthrie reflects on his road back from injury, his off-season training trip to USA and emerging Cats midfielders
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