How Geelong’s midfield ‘weakness’ has become a weapon in 10 weeks

It doesn’t look like a premiership midfield on paper, and the Cats were getting beaten up early in the season. But Geelong has turned things around dramatically. Here’s how they did it.

Geelong’s midfield doesn’t jump off the page.

An engine room that is still heavily reliant on 34-year-old Patrick Dangerfield with 33-year-old Rhys Stanley leading the ruck division. It doesn’t scream a premiership midfield.

But despite how a group of Dangerfield, Stanley, Tom Stewart, Max Holmes, Tom Atkins, Tanner Bruhn and Jack Bowes looks on paper, it has been extremely effective.

Those names above sans Stewart knocked off the star-studded midfield of Port Adelaide and now they have the vaunted Lions on-ball brigade in their sights.

Since Dangerfield has returned to the side in round 15, the Cats are first in the competition for scores from stoppages – averaging 45.2 points per game – and are the third best in the league at turning a clearance into a score according to Champion Data.

That might not mean much in a landscape where raw clearance numbers are more heavily scrutinised, but Champion Data views scores from stoppage with greater importance than the overall clearance count.

The Cats destroyed Port Adelaide in this area last week, particularly inside their own attacking arc.

They registered 31 points from stoppages just from their forward 50 – the second most in any final since Champion Data started recording the statistic.

It is a far cry from how the midfield was going before Dangerfield returned and Stewart was thrown into the mix.

Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Stewart celebrate a goal. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Raw clearance numbers can be deceiving, but the Cats were getting belted in this area in the first half of the season.

With Dangerfield missing nine games up until round 14, Geelong was dead last for clearance differential.

And it was Dangerfield’s return game in round 15 that marked a turning point for the Cats, where master tactician Chris Scott suggested a midfield shake-up.

Geelong’s finals hopes were brought into question after their horror 63-point loss to Carlton in round 15, where Scott said the Cats were “smacked” at clearances.

“Maybe we need to be a little bit creative again and that’s going to come with some problems,” Scott said.

“I don’t think we will be passive and I don’t think we will be conservative.

“We are not just going to roll over and do the same thing, we’ll go after some things that even if they don’t help us in the short-term – and that is our intention – but if it doesn’t work out in the short-term, it is going to help us by giving those guys some exposure to make sure they are good players in the future.”

Tanner Bruhn and Max Holmes have been an important part of their midfield mix. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The very next week, Scott pulled the trigger on Stewart into the midfield – something that had been experimented with in previous seasons but hadn’t been fully explored.

That shift got the five-time All-Australia out of a form slump and gave Geelong’s midfield another dimension. From round 16-24, he ranked first at the club for disposals and second for contested possessions.

Dangerfield was also able to spend ample time on the sidelines getting his troublesome hamstring right, and the results have paid off handsomely.

Holmes has spent more time in the midfield in the back-end of the year and had showed his game-changing impact on the big stage last week.

Bowes has hit his straps, Atkins is back to providing his usual grunt and tackling pressure after an early season stint in defence, while Bruhn gives something different with his work in traffic.

Dual best-and-fairest winner Cam Guthrie, one of Geelong’s most important midfield cogs in their premiership year in 2022, hasn’t featured since round 10 and is now on the outer.

Geelong’s perceived weakness has turned into an underrated asset — and the addition of Bailey Smith will make their engine room even better if the Cats get him over the line.

A match-up against a stacked midfield of Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage and Will Ashcroft doesn’t appear so daunting anymore.

Originally published as How Geelong’s midfield ‘weakness’ has become a weapon in 10 weeks