It’s time. We are just days away from the best seven months of the year, where football is the sun that our lives revolve around.
For Cats fans however, you’ll be waiting longer than anyone else with Geelong facing Fremantle in Perth in the last game of the round. In the mean time, sink your teeth into these looming storylines ahead of our season opener.
Dangerfield vs. Fyfe II
If you ever wanted to sit someone down and prove just how great this game can be, you would be hard pressed to go further than the clash of the titans in round nine, 2015.
To the praise of all, coaches Phil Walsh and Ross Lyon sent two of the competition’s best midfielders to one another and allowed them to battle it out without any interference. The pair amassed 78 disposals between them (38 to Dangerfield, 40 to Fyfe) in an out-and-out master class.
Fyfe won the Brownlow that season, while Dangerfield won the same award a year later. With Fremantle’s new skipper looking like he has lost nothing as he returns to football from a broken leg, and Dangerfield himself at the peak of his powers, strap yourselves in.
Both now Brownlow medallists, it's time for Fyfe vs. Dangerfield II (AFL Photos)
Harry the forward
The “will he or won’t he” was answered comprehensively through the JLT Community Series – All-Australian defender Harry Taylor is playing up forward.
An assessment based on those pre-season fixtures can be nothing more than “well, it’s a work in progress”, but come Sunday there will be nowhere to hide.
Harry not only needs to fire, but work creatively within the forward structure to the benefit of partner Tom Hawkins and those players at their feet.
We won’t get all the answers off one game, but we will certainly know more.
He's won every accolade as a defender - what can Harry Taylor do as a forward? (AFL Photos)
Who to debut?
For the first time in a long time, there are three first-year players who have all made strong cases to debut for the Cats in round one.
Tom Stewart must be as good as locked into Geelong’s defensive unit at this stage, though stranger things have happened. The 23-year-old defender could not have done anymore in his first summer at Simonds Stadium and on the back of a no fuss JLT Community Series, he’s given himself every chance for Perth.
Then there’s Brandan Parfitt – the Cats’ first pick of the 2016 draft. The 18-year-old played all three JLT games and only improved with each. He’s clean, slick with his hands and provides run, which are valuable commodities on the expanses of Domain Stadium.
And finally, we have Zach Guthrie. The rookie-listed player has come from the clouds, though is rated highly internally thanks to his pre-season and commitment to be better every session. Senior coach Chris Scott used his press conference this week to speak of his excitement around the brother of established-senior player Cameron, and with Cory Gregson unfortunately placed on the long term injury list the path is clear for a fairy tale debut.
Mature-age defender Tom Stewart is firmly in line to make his senior debut on Sunday. (AFL Photos)
Just who and what are Fremantle?
Simply put, we don’t know. Nat Fyfe and Aaron Sandilands back in purple bring instant improvement, but the Dockers have also recruited strongly in the off-season as they look to bounce back from a horror 2016.
Former Cats Shane Kersten and Joel Hamling could line up in Perth, while Cam McCarthy looks to be the right avenue to goal for Ross Lyon. Let’s see what they serve up.
Former Giant Cam McCarthy could be the answer to Fremantle's goalkicking woes. (AFL Photos)
