Mackie and Lonergan set to stay with Geelong

GEELONG'S Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan are set to forgo their pending free agency by signing on to new long-term deals to stay with the Cats.

Andrew Mackie

GEELONG defenders Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan are set to forgo their pending free agency next year by signing on to new long-term deals to stay with the Cats.

Mackie and Lonergan are contracted until the end of 2013, when they are set to become free agents, but in a show of loyalty, both are expected to commit to Geelong, possibly as soon as this week.

The club and the pair's manager, Anthony McConville, from Mac's Sports, are "very close" to striking two-year extensions, taking them through to the end of the 2015 season.

And young Cat Taylor Hunt is also in line for a new two-year deal with the club.

Ruckman Trent West agreed to a new two-year deal recently, shutting out Greater Western Sydney from luring him.

When asked about the Mackie and Lonergan negotiations yesterday, McConville confirmed that he was hopeful the deals would be struck soon.

"Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan would become free agents next year, but I am hopeful we may be able to do something with them sooner rather than later," McConville said.

"There are still a few things to be ticked off, but it is all looking positive."

Mackie, 28 next month, has been a crucial member of Geelong's triple premiership defence. Lonergan, who turned 28 in May, lost a kidney in a collision in the VFL in 2006, but has become a key member of the club's defensive unit.

He played in the 2011 premiership side and shut out Collingwood's Travis Cloke, which he did again a fortnight ago.

Hunt, 21, has been the Cats' run-with player this season, playing 15 games to take his career tally to 35 since his 2010 debut.