Chris Scott, Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Stewart spoke to the media on Monday morning at GMHA Stadium, here’s a snippet of what they said. 

Tom Stewart on… The Privilege of Leadership  

It’s a real sense of pride. For me to sit second in charge to Pat Dangerfield and Joel Selwood is pretty incredible, it's massive, it really is. I can't articulate how much it means to me to represent this club as a figurehead and to be vice captain is something I'm proud of and something I'm really thankful for. 

Patrick Dangerfield on... Support Around His Leadership

We'll do it differently to Joel. We won't be able to fill his shoes, no one can, he's an incredible person and an incredible player. We've both learned a huge amount from him but we have a really broad group that we can talk to, lean on, and always do. Whilst we have the decals on our locker it sits far further than that even though we're the ones that get to set up here today. It'll evolve as the year unfolds and there are always going to be different challenges that arise throughout any season, so I think it's a bit of suck and see. 

Patrick Dangerfield on… Being a Cats Supporter and Now Captain 

It's pretty special, I probably talk footy with Tom more than I do with any other player here, and that's been for the last few years so we probably drive each other a bit nuts.  But I think that's probably a positive thing because we're really strongly connected in that sense. But I still remember coming to games here standing up here at the Moorabool Street side of the ground on a milk crate watching Peter Riccardi and now we're playing with, and Chris is coaching his son, so it's pretty special in that sense. 

Patrick Dangerfield on…. How Long He’ll Captain the Club

I think for me it's for this year and then we'll reassess as an organisation at the end of the year. We're not looking any further ahead than what we can achieve this year. It's not about going back to back, it's a completely different group to last season, so it's how we can prepare ourselves and give ourselves the best shot at winning the 2023 premiership cup. I dare say, from us, you'll hear less about back to back, and more about what's in front of us. 

Chris Scott on… The Cats’ Local Connection 

We do pinch ourselves every now and again. I shouldn't speak too much about what Geelong was prior to my time because I don't understand it as well but what I've come to realise is just how clear we are around who we are and why we do things the way we do. And it's less about comparing ourselves to other clubs or where we sit in the competition it's more about being authentic to ourselves and what makes us feel a sense of belonging to the region.

We've been unapologetic when it comes to our recruiting policy, if it's a 50/50 call, then we're taking the local every time. And that's fine in theory but if you're passing up the best players then your club's not going to go too well, but it's just happened that we think that the most obvious leaders on field for us this year happen to be local guys and it's nice when those two things come together.