Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield on his new role, Cats’ emphasis on flexibility, fresh faces and flag ambitions
Experienced stars were behind Geelong’s last premiership, but a lot has changed since. As the Cats hunt another flag, captain Patrick Dangerfield shares a detailed insight into this new-look team — including his new role.
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On Geelong’s team sheet for the 2022 grand final, the Cats midfield read: Rhys Stanley, Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie.
Geelong’s first centre bounce against Essendon in the community series consisted of Max Holmes, Tom Stewart and Mitch Knevitt roving to ruckman Sam De Koning.
Captain Dangerfield was stationed up forward, Stanley was rucking in the VFL and Guthrie was sidelined with his troublesome ankle injury, with Cats legend Selwood happily retired.
In that 2022 premiership win, then wingman Holmes was sidelined with his infamous hamstring blow, Stewart was in All-Australian form in defence alongside breakout key back De Koning, and Knevitt’s first AFL season was coming to a close.
A lot has changed over the past two and a half years, and that quartet in particular underlines Geelong’s secret weapon: flexibility and the element of surprise.
“Holistically, we want all our players to play multiple positions. That’s what the best teams have, it keeps your opposition guessing, and for the team itself it actually keeps everyone in the play for longer periods,” Dangerfield told this masthead.
“It is hard to be to be pigeonholed to just one position, because if it’s not going well in that position, then you can find yourself out of the game depending on the flow of the match.
“The beauty of multi positional players is if something’s not working in one area, you’re able to shift the dial and move them somewhere else.”
While experienced stars were behind their last premiership, multifaceted and emerging talents will be crucial in their flag pursuit this season.
SWITCHING PLACES
That community series centre bounce crew all had magnet moves last year that will see them even better placed for 2025.
Holmes started the 2024 season in defence, was pushed into the midfield and switched between the two at times, before finishing his year as Geelong’s best player during the finals series as a pure on-baller.
Stewart was moved into a midfield role to shake the tag last season and rolled back to take the intercepts he is known for, with that on-ball shift always up coach Chris Scott’s sleeve.
An out of form De Koning was thrown to the wolves initially against his brother, Tom, against Carlton in his first game as No. 1 ruckman in round 15 last year. But after a promising month in the role and a pre-season honing his craft, he is now set to take the reins in a ruck-defender with the injury-riddled Toby Conway sidelined.
Knevitt cut his teeth as a wingman but the 193 midfielder moved into the on-ball mix in the VFL midway through the season and it culminated in a dominant display in their semi-final against Southport. That telling performance set the tone for a barnstorming pre-season that has the 22-year-old primed to be a key member of their midfield group.
Even Geelong recruit Bailey Smith, who appeared hungry for a full-time midfield role when he crossed from the Kennel, played on the inside, wing and half-forward in his eye-catching first game in 547 days against Hawthorn last month.
Dangerfield’s enhanced foreard role is the latest leaver to be pulled by dual premiership coach.
More time in the attacking arc comes as somewhat of a surprise given the eight-time All-Australian remained a pivotal part of Geelong’s engine room last season.
The Cats struggled without him in there last season while he was sidelined with his two hamstring injuries and he attended a team-high 87 per cent of centre bounces in their preliminary final defeat to Brisbane.
Turning 35 in April and 13 games away from his 350th, Dangerfield feels more time forward is the right move.
But the Brownlow medallist’s midfield-forward split will be fluid, with his body in a good sport ahead of the seaosn.
“Think (the split) will be horses for courses depending on the game and the condition, opposition. It will change from week to week, it sort of did last year, but it makes sense as I get older to spend more time forward, but it just depends on the opposition,” Dangerfield said.
“Time of the year is one thing as well, it’s a long season, so being cognisant of that with our older players is an important part for us as well.
“The amount of training that you are doing, it doesn’t mirror what it did 10 years ago.
“And you do slowly get there as an older athlete to understand that it is no longer about doing every single bit of training, it is making sure that your best parts of your game you are refining and practising and less of pounding the pavement.”
With 335 goals to his name, he won’t be trying to reinvent the wheel.
“There is no really sexy headline to add to it other than the percentage split,” he said.
If you feel Dangerfield is merely moving out to give other young Cats like Knevitt opportunity, think again. That’s not how Scott and the Cats roll.
“Mitch has earnt his time in there to be honest,” Dangerfield siad.
“He has had a great pre-season and he had a wonderful finish to the year last year, it was just a tough team to break into – which is what we want it to be. I don’t think we’re in the habit of gifting games.
“There’s times when you want to expose younger players absolutely, but he in particular has been one that’s really earnt the opportunity.
“He is a big bodied player, he has a lovely first possession, reads the ball well off the ruck’s hand, so he’s definitely earnt it.”
Dangerfield put Knevitt’s name forward as an inside midfield option in December, and since then he established himself as Geelong’s breakout contender.
“He played a wonderful final. I thought he was by far our best player,” Dangerfield said.
“And then he went to work in the off season putting even more time into his strengths.
“Everyone talks about the things they want to improve – and that’s absolutely part of being a good league footballer, but making the things you do really well as good as they possibly can be and sharpening your weapons, I feel like he’s done that.”
ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL?
Is Geelong better off playing De Koning as a key defender, where he was so crucial in Cats’ premiership year at 20-years-of age, instead of in the ruck?
As that renowned taco advertisement said, why can’t we have both?
The uncontracted big man swapped from the ruck to defence during the pre-season matches with Mr Fix It Mark Blicavs, who is the epitome of flexibility.
“(De Koning’s) diligence has been outstanding for mine, so I’m looking forward to how that translates for his game. And he is going to play a bit of ruck, he is going to play a bit of defence. Once again, he is one of those players that is quite flexible,” Dangerfield said.
Dangerfield regards De Koning’s switch as selfless given his talents down back, and there won’t be high expectations placed on him given his inexperience and injury setbacks.
But as we have seen with his Blues brother, Sam De Koning has traits that fit the bill for the modern ruckman.
“I think he’s a phenomenal defender, but he’s a very selfless player, he will do what’s best for the team – and that’s why his teammates love him,” Dangerfield said.
“But the refinement for him has been ruckwork, like that’s clear, he hasn’t been a player that has come into the team and all he has done is practice ruck craft.
“That’s really been something that has only started over the last few seasons, it’s been a bit injury interrupted obviously as well. We are mindful of that, we are conscious that we don’t expect the world in that capacity, but what he does do is read the game exceptionally well, he is a beautiful mark and for what sometimes he lacks for in that real skill and nous, he is incredible around the ground.
“He does win plenty of the footy which is also important, you want to be able to maintain the ball more often than the opposition does.”
Then there is the electric Holmes, entering season five fresh off a best and fairest year.
Holmes lit up the pre-season off halfback last year and 12 months on he was Geelong’s standout in their opening practice game against Hawthorn playing mostly in the midfield.
After that premiership season in 2022, Dangerfield declared in ‘The Greatest Team of All’ by News Corp’s Scott Gullan that Holmes, “could be the best player in the competition at some stage”.
Could that be in 2025?
“I hope so, I hope for Geelong’s sake, that’s for sure,” Dangerfield said.
“He is a pretty handy player, he’s got great power, endurance, all those things you need to be good. And he had a fabulous season for us last year, so I’m really bullish on how good I think he can be.
“He was a critical signature for us last year and I think it really reaffirms that you have really talented players like that that believe in the direction we are going, it is a great starting point. He has developed into, in my view, one of the better players in the competition.
“So I’m excited to see where he can go with it next.”
SECOND YEAR CATS
Dangerfield is buoyed by several second-year Cats capable of giving Geelong a boost this season.
One of those is 2023 first pick Connor O’Sullivan.
The Cats skipper said has had a “wonderful” pre-season and will receive far more opportunity than the one-game he received in 2024.
“He’s obviously a really young player and he’s still a developing player, but we’ve got really high hopes with what we think he can add to us for this season,” Dangerfield said.
“Now, is he going to play absolutely every game? I don’t know, but he has given himself a really good opportunity with how he has presented.”
The Cats’ second selection 2023, Shaun Mannagh, isn’t your usual second-year player at 27, and he had a major impact at the back-end of last season after biding his time.
Fellow mature-age pick-up Lawson Humphries, the second-last pick of that draft, burst onto the scene around the same time.
Mannagh has been a notable absentee this pre-season with a foot injury but Dangerfield remains excited by what lively half-forward and Humphries can produce in season two.
“We haven’t seen much of Shaun Mannagh throughout the pre-season but Shaun, he is an older player, but it is second year on an AFL list and I’m going to be excited about what he is going to be able to do feeling even more comfortable at the level,” Dangerfield
“(Humphries is) going to be a pretty special player for a really long period of time. He is a really well balanced person, really inquisitive. That’s one of the things that we foster and we want players to be themselves and to forge their own path.”
There are a couple more from that 2023 draft class to watch out for in uncapped Cats Mitch Edwards, a mobile 206cm ruckman, and bullocking midfielder George Stevens.
“As a young ruck generally they take some time. But (Edwards has) looked quite good at various stages as well, so he’s going to be important for us,” Dangerfield said.
“There’s a few that have been sort of unlucky not to play so far. George Stevens sort of comes to mind, he is a big bodied mid that’s plenty of great VFL footy and George has got some really strong attributes that can really mix it at AFL level.”
THE PRELIM
The heartbreaking preliminary final loss to the Lions will stick long in the minds of Cats fans.
But it hasn’t served as motivation for Dangerfield, who is focused firmly on the present.
“Each and every season is totally different. You bring different players, different players leave,” he said.
“It’s new and you’re refining your game plan anyway – if you’re standing still, then you’re getting left behind because everyone is always trying to improve.
“How I always see it is disappointment for that season. You can reflect on it and go, ‘Geez we were close that year’, but it doesn’t mean a huge amount now because so much changes and it’s not just, ‘We need to get two per cent more right and we’ll be fine’, that’s not how the game works.”
And as always, Geelong will be putting all its chips in to achieve the holy grail.
“Premiership is always the goal, it’s a hard sell if you don’t think you can achieve that,” Dangerfield said.
“That’s what gets you out of bed. I’m really confident if we can execute our game more often than not, than we are more than capable. And that’s the thing that gets our guys excited, I know that certainly.”
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