As a player he consistently drove the high standards at Geelong, and it seems like that notion has extended into James Kelly's coaching career. 

With 313 games of AFL experience under his belt, Kelly has been an integral part of the Cats since rejoining as an assistant coach in 2022. 

Looking to extract the best out of the playing group, the Geelong champion had a simple response when asked whether the Cats were aiming to reach loftier heights this year. 

"That is always our aim," Kelly said. 

09:39

James Kelly | Press Conference

Assistant Coach James Kelly spoke to the media ahead of Geelong's Community Series clash against Essendon on Tuesday. Proudly Presented by Morris.

"We don't sit in meetings and think, how are we going to buck the trend?

"We always try to get our program and our playing group as strong as we can. If the result of that is that we go against the tide again, then that is great for us and great for the Geelong people.

"We genuinely think about our program everyday and how can we make it better, how can we make this place more enjoyable for players and coaches to be at and to work at."

05:39

Match Sim Highlights | Geelong v Hawthorn

The Cats and Hawks clash in match simulation

Geelong had a successful first hit-out against Hawthorn this week, with a number of players putting their name forward for a spot in the Opening Round team. 

Max Holmes (24 disposals, eight marks, six intercepts) and Gryan Miers (24 disposals, 10 marks) led the way, while Ollie Henry (four goals) and Brad Close (three goals) were dominant up forward. 

But perhaps the biggest takeaway was the improvement of some young Cats, including Mitch Knevitt and Connor O'Sullivan who both had a big impact throughout the match simulation. 

Kelly noted those two as pre-season standouts, along with some other established stars who are taking their game to new levels. 

"The main players for me would be Mitch Knevitt and Connor O'Sullivan, those guys have had really good pre-seasons," Kelly said. 

"They are big, athletic players that are always valuable in the AFL.

"Guys like Sam De Koning, Jack Henry who were interrupted last year, those guys have had really good pre-seasons. They are not on the fringe at all, but you get a really good spike from those sort of players.

"It is not often that you have someone who comes into your team and changes your whole team, so we look for the improvement in everyone in that sense."