Geelong’s 2024 campaign came to a close on Saturday night, but Zach Guthrie noted how proud he is of the group for everything they achieved across the course of the season.
After missing the Finals last year, the Cats returned to the top four and secured their 13th Preliminary Final berth in the last 18 seasons.
Another exciting aspect of Geelong’s year was the development of some emerging talent, with seven players featuring in the first Finals series of their career.
Guthrie joined Cats Media following the Preliminary Final, touching on the disappointment but also focusing on the positives from this year.
“It is tough, it can go either way which is the tough thing, immediately it is pretty disappointing,” Guthrie said.
“Immediate feeling is disappointment, but I am proud of the guys for our season overall.
“It is a tough and long season, we hung in there really well because every team had ebbs and flows.
“To get back in a position where we were really close to a Grand Final is great, but at the same time we are really disappointed.”
Over 93,000 fans packed into the MCG to see Saturday’s Preliminary Final, with Cats fans turning out in force to paint Melbourne blue and white.
Breaking the membership record in 2024 and hitting 90,000 members for the first time, Guthrie said it has been incredible seeing the support each week.
“We felt their support massively tonight, our supporters have been huge for us all year,” Guthrie said.
“They have stuck by us, even when we went through a bit of a slump through the middle of the year.
“They supported us really well, they showed up in numbers tonight.
“We are disappointed we couldn't get the job done for them, but at the same time they have been huge for us all year and we can't thank them enough.”
