Updated ,first published
The Cats will never disappear.
All the prayers, predictions and prognostications from opposition supporters have amounted to nothing.
They are still there, nagging away like the lawn you haven’t mowed, the tail-light you haven’t fixed, or the dirty clothes staring back at you from the washing basket.
Their demolition of the reigning premiers by 41 points at the Gabba on Thursday night, just five days after smashing Collingwood, could be described as a statement, or a brutal reminder, or simply the perfect execution of a well-planned mission.
The club that has played in preliminary finals in eight of the past 10 seasons, and three of the past six grand finals, will be sniffing at the flag again.
That’s the only conclusion that can be reached after their Thursday night throttling of the Lions.
Cats coach Chris Scott was content with the performance, but knows nothing memorable is won in May.
“There is still a lot of footy to be played, but we are confident we will get better,” Scott said.
The Cats’ midfield is supposed to be a weakness but no one worth listening to has got that message through to them yet, except Port Adelaide, anyway.
The combination led by young ruckman Mitch Edwards is workmanlike on paper, with rock star Bailey Smith surrounded by bass players in Tom Atkins, Tanner Bruhn, Shaun Mannagh and tagger Oisin Mullin.
Star runner Max Holmes sits in defence to be called upon when needed, while Patrick Dangerfield just marches into the centre if an old and occasionally wise head is needed.
Mullin kept dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale quiet, while Hugh McCluggage could not have his normal influence. Will Ashcroft was reasonable, but when Geelong dialled the volume up early in the third quarter none of those stars could be heard over the din as the Cats’ lead stretched to 42 points.
The Cats lost the clearance count but scored 31 more points from clearance than their opposition as they have made that a strength in the past six weeks.
Mannagh, who was in a rut (a dirty word in some parts) six weeks ago when he described his game against the Hawks on Easter Monday as “a shocker”, has bounced back with a vengeance.
He was superb in the second half, kicking three goals in a three-minute-and-50-second burst that was perhaps the most exciting sub-four-minute stretch since Roger Bannister ran his famous mile. OK, that might be an exaggeration, but it was a great watch, nonetheless, with two of his goals coming from kicks out of mid-air. The Lions, with their dwindling supply of small defenders, had no answer.
One important swing from the grand final was that the Cats had Tom Stewart back in the team, while the Lions were without the injured Dayne Zorko. Stewart, who missed last year’s decider through concussion, intercepted marks and returned anything the Lions could fire inside 50 with interest. He was outstanding.
He is commanding a defence that is desperate to keep their foot on their opponents’ throats, while the forward line is predictably unpredictable, with Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale the constants inside 50 as the game’s best coach feeds players through the forward half, with Jack Henry making a cameo as he returned from injury. Cameron kicked three to take his season tally to 27, the same number he had after round 10 last year. He finished with 88 goals in 2025.
The Lions will be in contention, too, with their coach Chris Fagan suggesting their hunger for the contest wasn’t as it had been recently with three six-day breaks in a row a potential factor. Justifiably, he said there was no need to “hit the panic button”. Fagan would be well aware the Lions had only lost once to the Cats in their previous five encounters heading into the match. “Well done Geelong. They were great,” he said.
The reality is the Cats have been great with monotonous regularity over the past 20 years – their smarts and hard work still the benchmark for most clubs in the competition. They play another team with the same reputation, Sydney, next week at home in a game that will either elevate Geelong’s standing, or confirm the reality they live by, which is that every opponent is tough.
The most ominous comment came from Bailey Smith post-game when he spoke to Channel Seven after another excellent 34-disposal performance.
“We don’t want to peak just yet,” Smith said.
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