Since I started barracking for Geelong in 2010, the narrative has always been the same; the Cats are ‘too old and too slow’ and perhaps in the last five years, this saying has come to have some truth behind it. 

At the end of 2010, after Geelong lost emphatically to the eventual premiers Collingwood in the preliminary final (there’s a bit of a theme running within this club!), there were calls that the dynasty was over. After three consecutive grand finals and two premierships, age was finally catching up to the Cats. However the team, led by their multiple veterans, looked ahead to the 2011 season after the “massive challenge(s)” of the 2010 season. 

In 2011, the Cats went in with the oldest average age of any list in the AFL, at 24.3 years. The Cats, used to being criticised for their age, rebounded and won their third flag in five years. This cemented themselves, as Stephen Quartermain described, “one of the greatest teams of the modern era,” showing that age had no impact on their abilities to play three more games than almost all the other teams.

Since 2011, Geelong have been in four preliminary finals with a record of 1 win, 3 losses. In those years, the lowest ranking of average list age was in 2017 when we were ranked in 10th. In 2020, when we made our first grand final since 2011, we ranked at number four for average list age. In 2021, we were first. Heading into 2022 we are ranked first again. These figures show that it’s hard to deny the fact that age is surely now becoming a factor stopping us from going all the way.

I say it a lot but I sympathise with those supporters who have to see their teams go through premiership droughts of 50 years or more, with the Bulldogs and Richmond being the latest to snap theirs. This will be the 11th year since we last won a grand final and it seriously feels like it’s been forever. The worst part is, I only think it’s going to get longer and longer. 

Stephen Wells is hailed like a God in Geelong. His methods are always criticised heavily in the media. Nevertheless, there is no one else that can compile a list, year after year, that finds itself in the top 4 or at least the top 8. The older players, especially, love getting written off before every season with Zac Touhy even saying that he hopes that “every other team…underestimate(s) us.”

Tuohy joked and said that Geelong “peaked six years ago” but have still played in a “handful of prelims ever since.” He said that the Cats have “defied history for a decade” because the drop-off simply hasn’t come when all the self-proclaimed “experts” predict it will. Here’s hoping we continue to defy the odds.

Every year it’s a matter of mixed emotions for me heading into a season. I accept that I, along with all other Cats fans, are privileged to the point where we expect and assume we will make a preliminary final. But that doesn’t take away the disappointment that I feel every year when we fall just short of glory. 

I will always stand by the fact that I would much rather make a prelim every year and have that be our waste of a season, as opposed to not making the finals at all. Whilst being disappointed has, unfortunately, become the norm for us Cats fans, I always say this is our last chance. Then the boys surprise me and get back to the top again. 

This year I honestly think this might be seriously our last chance for ultimate success as our club heroes Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins and others slide their way into retirement. I hope this year is the year and I get a good feeling that this is the best list we’ve had in a while. 

After the Tigers won their third grand final in four years in 2021, I thought there was no way anyone could knock them off the top. I thought they would complete the 3-peat but injuries hit them hard. The younger kids couldn’t adapt quickly enough to allow them to play the same footy that had terrorised the competition over the last four years. 

Last year was deservedly Melbourne’s year and I’d be surprised if they didn’t go back to back and win their 14th flag. I hope the Cats can use the ‘too old, too slow’ narrative to their advantage and draw on that for inspiration, giving us the same feeling we had 11 years ago.

Photography credit: Joe Castro