Geelong sits about where most would have expected them to be on the ladder after 14 games. But that’s not easy to see when six of the previous seven matches have ended in defeat. Although they never show it, the competitive club takes defeat hard and skipper Patrick Dangerfield was a picture of smiling defiance when asked about whether the run of losses had changed their expectations for 2024.
Chris Scott speaks with Cats star Tom Stewart in a break in play during Geelong’s clash with Carlton. Credit: AFL Photos “I think it’s time to quit, yeah,” Dangerfield quipped before getting serious. “We’ll always pick the best team .
.. we still feel we are absolutely in the hunt this season.
” They are entitled to such retorts, having defied conventional wisdom for close to 20 years to make finals in all but two of Chris Scott’s 13 completed seasons as coach. Their standing in the competition is due to most of the decisions they’ve made in the past 20 years being proven to be correct. And their philosophy to always fight to finish as high as possible while developing the inexperienced players they bring to the club.
It all means the gradient of any equalisation cliff Geelong may peer over is less steep from their premiership-winning counterparts Hawthorn and Richmond, with Max Holmes, Tanner Bruhn, Ollie Dempsey, Jhye Clark, Connor O’Sullivan, Toby Conway, Ollie Henry, Shannon Neale, Phoenix Foster and Mitch Edwards giving them enough to work with in the near futur.
