After a stellar 2023 season saw him become a leader of Geelong’s defensive unit, Zach Guthrie has taken his game to even greater heights this year with another brilliant campaign.
Averaging career highs in disposals, marks and rebound 50’s, Guthrie has shown a strong ability to lockdown tall and small forwards while also punishing teams offensively.
The defenders’ impact was highlighted in the Cats Qualifying Final win over Port Adelaide, collecting 27 disposals and a game high 11 intercept possessions.
Guthrie said that finding consistency in games and at training have been the key to his development.
“It has probably been a result of some continuity, being able to play at the top level for the last few seasons,” Guthrie said.
“I feel like that naturally develops your confidence when you start to put yourself in that situation.
“For myself I am always trying to improve my game, training continuity is really important for me to put those things into practice that I am working on.
“Getting exposure to AFL footy more and more starts to help your game, in those moments you feel like you can stand up a little bit more.”
The Cats are hoping to fill the MCG with blue and white on Saturday, as they prepare to host Brisbane in the second Preliminary Final.
For Geelong it is their second Preliminary Final at the MCG in the last three years, while also set to take on the Lions in a Prelim for the third time in five seasons.
Guthrie noted how important the Cats faithful are with their strong support, encouraging fans to show up in numbers on Saturday afternoon.
“It is huge, we love playing in front of our fans and they give us a real spark when we need it which is great,” Guthrie said.
“We are really looking forward to that, hoping we can get plenty of blue and white to the game this weekend. We obviously love playing down here, but we love playing at the MCG as well.
“Geelong is a mad footy town, we get really great support down here and pretty much anywhere we go.
“They are getting right behind us and we hope to put on a good performance for them this week.”
Tickets are still available through Ticketek for Saturday’s Preliminary Final, with the opening bounce at 5.15pm from the MCG.
