Too often in sports, teams overreact and change their game plan on the back of an adverse result or one poor performance. 

But according to star defender, Tom Stewart that certainly will not be the case for Geelong heading into the 2025 AFL season. 

With the addition of some new personnel during the off-season, there have been some subtle shifts to the Cats style which was evident during their two practice games in the pre-season. 

Stewart said the key for the Cats is sticking to what they do best, not straying away from what has made the club so successful over a long period of time. 

"It would be naive of us think that we don't have to shift and pivot," Stewart said. 

"But I think we, as a club have had such consistency for a long period of time, and we understand what is it to play finals footy. In my time I have played in two Grand Finals and four Prelim's in eight years.

"You do tinker at the edges, but what we value at our core and who we are as a group doesn't change that much.

"I think that is the biggest thing that I have learned in my career is consistency throughout, and consistency with your approach is the most important thing.

"That is so well led by our coaches, we understand what makes us a great team and what our identity is."

The Cats will commence their 2025 season this weekend, as they take on Fremantle at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

One anomaly predicted for this weekend is the weather, with the Bureau of Meteorology expecting a 33-degree day in Geelong on Saturday. 

While it is unusual to have such warm conditions for a football game in Geelong, Stewart said the team is well prepared for what lies ahead later in the week. 

"We have dealt with it all Summer, it has been one of the hottest summers that we have had down here in Geelong," Stewart remarked.

"Ultimately that will prepare us for that sort of weather, but it is hot in Perth as well so they will be well versed too.

"There is an array of different ways we have gone about it with heat training, sauna exposure and that sort of thing.

"We were anticipating hot weather in Brisbane for the Opening Round, so we have been going through our processes and have had things instilled in us from a strength and conditioning side of things."