All Eyes On… The Guthrie Inheritance

Who would have thought the Gary Ablett – Cam Guthrie link runs so deep?

When Guthrie’s dad, Andrew Merryweather, played his final AFL game back in 1988 it was at Kardinia Park and Ablett the Older kicked a lazy six goals to power the Cats to victory. Fast forward to 2011, and an 18-year-old Cameron Guthrie makes his debut at the same ground – in Ablett the Younger’s famous number 29. The Guthrie inheritance was a big deal at the time but it barely rates a mention these days – with a Carji and All-Australian guernsey under his belt, and a few more insight, he is now firmly his own man.

And with Pat Dangerfield out, may just be the Cats’ most influential midfielder.

He was dominant against the Saints, with 36 disposals, six marks, six score involvements and seven tackles to his name, but he’s been doing it all season and seems to be getting better. His last month reads like this: 36 touches (St.Kilda), 36 touches (Richmond), 30 touches (Sydney) and 35 touches (West Coast). Throw in his 43 touch performance on Easter Monday and his season average is a full ten disposals higher than last season’s award-winning performance.

If he keeps this up there could even be another Ablett link we’re discussing after the season.

All Eyes On… The Sun(s) King

Meanwhile, Mitch Duncan is also quietly putting together a career season as well. You can bet while the Suns’ coaching group will be putting their time into Guthrie, they’ll be putting equal time into the evergreen Duncan.

His 28.1 career mark against the Suns is his highest mark against an opposition team by some way.

He’s been a star for years, albeit an underappreciated one beyond the Cattery, but like the rest of the Geelong midfield, he’s responded to Dangerfield’s absence with almost career-best numbers - his 28.6 touches per game is a whisker below his career mark of 29.1 in 2017, and almost nine disposals up on last year’s output.

And as we saw against West Coast, he was kicking barrels before Zac Tuohy made them cool again.

All Eyes On… the Department of Defence

While there was a bit of chatter about Max King’s shots at goal last Friday, and/or where Mark Blicavs should be deployed, the reality is Matty Scarlett’s Misfits are a big reason the Cats are comfortably ensconced in the top 4 at this point in the season.

Only the top of the table Demons’ defence has been more miserly than the Cats this season, who are holding the opposition to 68.6 points per game – a number that falls to 57.2 over the last five weeks.

That figure is even more impressive with Blicavs being used around the ground more and more and Jake Kolodjashnij missing through injury. Tom Stewart, who leads the Cats in total kicks, marks and rebound 50s, has been immense, Lachie Henderson is playing some of the best footy of his career, and once the ball hits the ground, Jed Bews and Tom Atkins swoop.

While defence seems to be a dirty word these days, you’re not winning anything without the back six putting the squeeze on week after week.

All Eyes On… The Switch

Not many teams switched up their game plan as dramatically as the Suns appear to have done this season.

Boiled down – they’re always, always trying to find a free man, and the main weapon in getting the ball up the ground is the switching from one side of the ground to the other. In 2020, they ranked second last in the competition for switches to number one this season. If you tracked their ball movement from above, it might look like Zoro had carved out an oversized Z on the field of play.

As a result, we’re seeing high numbers of uncontested marks (from 11th to 1st), effective short kicks (from 10th to 1st), and overall they kick the ball almost twice as many times as they handball.

Whether this is effective on the tighter confines of GMHBA Stadium remains to be seen but the numbers don’t lie: the switch is on.

GEELONG has weathered a mid-game surge from Gold Coast before running away to claim a 34-point win in at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

When the Suns cut the margin to five points early in the third term, the prospect of them claiming a first-ever win at the Cats' home ground looked very real.

But with key forwards Jeremy Cameron, Tom Hawkins and Gary Rohan combining for seven goals, the Cats regathered to win 14.7 (91) to 8.9 (57), improving their win-loss record to 7-3.

On the downside, Geelong will be without Mitch Duncan for next Saturday's MCG clash with Collingwood.

The prime mover was subbed out under the concussion rule at halftime after smashing his head into the turf in a strong tackle from Nick Holman.

There were concerns that fellow midfield ace Cameron Guthrie would also spend time on the sidelines after he came off early in the third quarter clutching his left shoulder, but the 2020 All-Australian was able to return to the fray after receiving medical attention.

The Suns were left to rue inaccuracy in front of goal, with spearhead Ben King's miss from directly in front late in the second quarter proving a real momentum killer.

King still ended the match with three goals, but the Cats got a much better collective return from their big-name forwards, with Cameron booting three goals and Hawkins and Rohan chiming in with two apiece.

Fringe midfielder Quinton Narkle played arguably his best-ever game for Geelong, who was also well served by defender Tom Stewart and skipper Joel Selwood.

The Suns' better players included backman Will Powell and onballer Touk Miller.

Former Cats ruckman Zac Smith kicked what must surely have been the best goal of his 11-year, 116-game career with an unlikely snap late in the second quarter when he was hemmed in on the boundary line.

Gold Coast slipped to 3-7 ahead of a trip to Darwin next Saturday to tackle fellow strugglers Hawthorn.

Duncan down and out
Mitch Duncan is set to miss next week’s clash with Collingwood after suffering a concussion in the second quarter. Duncan had a red-hot start for the Cats, amassing 15 disposals and two goals before being tackled into the turf by Nick Holman. He left the field and didn’t return, and was replaced by medical sub Zach Guthrie. Concussion protocols mean Duncan is certain to miss the next game.

A tale of two Guthries
While injury sub Zach Guthrie was warming up to take to the field, his brother Cam was in danger of needing a medical sub himself. The older Guthrie was crunched in a tackle in the final moments of the second quarter, and came off the field clutching his left shoulder. He later returned to the ground with his shoulder heavily strapped, and kept coy about his prognosis when questioned post-game.

Prodigal Sun returns
When he stepped out onto GMHBA Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Zac Smith found himself in the peculiar position of both playing for and against his old side. The former Cat originally played for Gold Coast between 2011 and 2015 before heading to the Cattery until 2019. In his first game during his second stint at the Suns, the 206cm tall ruckman booted a goal and managed 22 hitouts.

GEELONG                     4.0       6.1       10.3     14.7 (91)
GOLD COAST                1.1       3.6       4.8       8.9 (57)

GOALS
Geelong: Cameron 3, Duncan 2, Hawkins 2, Rohan 2, Tuohy, Blicavs, Higgins, Close, Bews
Gold Coast: King 3, Corbett, Smith, Greenwood, Miller, Burgess

BEST
Geelong:  Selwood, Guthrie, Blicavs, Higgins, Narkle, Menegola, Stewart
Gold Coast: Miller, Greenwood, Lukosius, Swallow, King, Powell

INJURIES
Geelong:  Duncan (concussion)
Gold Coast: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Zach Guthrie (replaced Mitch Duncan)
Gold Coast: Malcolm Rosas (unused)

Crowd: TBC at GMHBA Stadium