He is impressed with the new faces and believes they will complement the team, which will add an extra dimension to the club.
‘’I think we’ve had a great preparation, recruited really well, another ruckman Hamish, and Rivers down in defense and Caddy in the midfield, we’ve got depth in every line...’’ Lonergan told Cats TV.
‘’Everyone is reasonably fit, so there are no excuses going in to 2013, I think we are ready to go.’’
Fitness and a solid game plan is what Lonergan sees as the main objective coming from senior coach, Chris Scott. And so far he feels the team has responded well and things are looking good.
‘’Get the work in your legs and make sure you are as fit as you can, come round one. We’ve tinkered a little bit with our game plan and it all seems to be going really well,’’ Lonergan said.
Lonergan feels this year’s season will again see some very tight competition and things may get really tough. He predicts that all the top teams from last year will most likely be up there again.
‘’I think Carlton… Essendon, Richmond, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Sydney.’’
‘’It’s going to be another tough year to win games.’’
Whilst the club has been losing key players through retirement, Lonergan, reiterates how the club has been able to continue its success through a culture made up of great leaders and coaches.
‘’I think we’ve just got a fantastic culture, it doesn’t matter who comes in and plays, whether you’re a first gamer or an experienced gamer.’’
‘’We play the Geelong way and that comes down to having a great culture at the footy club, having fantastic coaches and great leaders on field.’’
When the team is finally reunited with Varcoe, Menzel and Vardy, Lonergan is optimistic they’ll be a formidable ingredient to the team.
‘’They’re going to be like three new players and they’re such impact players too, obviously we know what Travie Varcoe can do is electrifying in our grand final, we didn’t see it at all last year unfortunately because of his foot problems.’’
‘’Danny Menzel has had a really tough time with his knee, he’s coming along really well and hopefully we see some footy coming from him early on in the year.’’
‘’And big Vards could be anything, he can jump he can run, he’s strong, hopefully his body holds up and we see a lot of him in 2013.’’
Three other important recruits have joined the cattery and Longeran is thrilled to have them on side. He is confident that they will enrich the team in a number of crucial areas in order to compete successfully.
‘’Obviously they bring a lot more depth to the team, another ruckman is essential, you need a big ruckman to contend in a premiership.’’
‘’Caddy is a young second year player from the Gold Coast, hard bodied inside mid that’s going to help out our midfield group, he’s going to be a really good player in years to come.’’
‘’And Rivers, a 150 game player for Melbourne, he’s got great experience, was in their leadership group, (and) he’ll fill that void that Scarlet left really well.’’
‘’He’ll be a great addition to the backline.’’
From the pack of young guys, Lonergan, considers that Allen Christensen has all the skills and experience to take the next step. He can see him becoming a future leader, not only for the Cats but for the AFL league.
‘’I think Al Christensen is ready to go, he’s had a fantastic preseason, really fit and he’s played enough games to know what it takes now, he played in the 2011 premiership team and I think he is ready to take the next step to become an elite AFL footballer.’’
