“I don’t want to blow our own trumpet,” McIntosh told Cats TV.
“Having Dawson and myself fit has been a bit of help this year though I suppose.”
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing in the ruck department, with both Dawson Simpson and Hamish McIntosh missing majority of last season thanks to a plague of injuries.
Simpson found fantastic form in the middle of the 2013 season, with a career best 55 hit outs in Round 16 against Melbourne, before being struck down by a serious knee injury. Meanwhile, McIntosh was unable to play a game due to a variety of injuries.
After the opening two rounds of 2014, the immediate impact of the pair is undeniable, with the Cats currently ranked 4th in the competition for average hit out’s as opposed their ranking of 15th last year.
Geelong’s centre clearances are also promising, currently sitting in 4th position for season 2014, compared to 13th at the end of last year.
“We did a lot of work through the preseason, a lot of stoppage work,” McIntosh said.
“There was a real emphasis on it and you can see it’s starting to pay off in the first couple of games as a whole group. It’s something we’ll be looking to improve on for the rest of the year,” McIntosh said.
Gullan said the improved performance around the stoppages is only going to see Geelong’s attacking game style get better.
“Guys like Selwood and Johnson, they can rove to their advantage which is totally foreign, they haven’t really been able to do that for 12 months,” Gullan told Cats TV.
“As a mindset for a midfielder, you’re in there going alright, I’m going to run there and Hamish will hit to me.”
“It’s completely different and clearly it’s been the missing link in this team. They battled away last year and nearly made a Grand Final so to me, it’s the biggest tick this year for the club,” said Gullan.
