Brad Close says he’s just happy being a regular in the side ahead of his 50th game this weekend, despite emerging as a key cog in the Cats September charge this season.
It’s symbolic of a side that despite playing for their 11th win in a row this weekend against St. Kilda, Close and the Cats are still hungry to find ways to get better each week.
The former Rookie’s forward half pressure and chase-down tackles are a highlight of any Cats game, but they’re just one of a host of reasons Close is so important to Geelong this season, despite his humility.
“I'm happy being a regular in the side,” he told media during the week.
“I'm more than happy playing a role and I know that each week if I can do the little things that I do to help the side, things like bringing the pressure and hopefully finish with a goal or two at the end of the game, it's great fun being out there.”
Close said that continuous improvement is a key focus of the group each week, and the ability to absorb the opposition's best, and still get the win, is helping them build confidence.
“There are a few parts of our game that we need to knuckle down in the next few weeks," Close said.
“Obviously, we keep trying to improve each week so we know where we let it slip a couple of times and it's a good positive sign to know we can lock it down later in the game and get it back the way we want it.”
Close made his name playing for North Gambier in the Western Border league in his late teens, winning two premierships before shifting to Glenelg in the SANFL where he was a part of the Bays 2019 drought-breaking premiership team.
It wasn’t long after that the Cats came calling, but it’s the first two flags that really made an impact at home where his Dad, Andrew, was a 382 game Western Border league legend.
Close said he’s got a way to go to catch up to the old man’s tally but he’ll be there on Saturday to see him run through the banner.
“In terms of country footy I'm well behind him but he loves getting around the footy so he'll be over, I'm sure.”
