Modern football is a tough game.

Both on and off the field the scrutiny is so high and the much-trusted analogy of “if you’re not moving forwards, you’re moving backwards” has never been truer.

No one could doubt the Cats are moving forward in 2018. Not only the new faces who are continually referred to as “another Stephen Wells special” but also how the team operates week to week. 

In the review post game, whether they be wins or losses, the opportunities for improvement are pieces of gold. As much as each opposition presents a different challenge, the good teams look internally first. They ask the question, what can WE be doing better?

Defensively the Cats have gotten much, much better since the opening three rounds. After conceding 44 goals in those three opening matches, the Cats have only had a combined 35 goals scored against them in the five matches since.

This was not meant to happen. With Harry Taylor and Lachie Henderson missing for most if not all of the opening eight rounds and Tom Lonergan and Andrew Mackie no longer there, the Cats were expected to leak more than a submarine with a fly-wire door.

But they haven’t because they’ve moved forward. Jack Henry’s debut came earlier than expected, Tom Stewart’s leadership has come in 29 games in instead of the normal 50-100 game mark and Mark Blicavs has once again shown why he is one of the game’s most capable and versatile players adding key defender to ruckman, midfielder, wingman and tagger as the roles he can play. Ideally for the Cats none of these things would have been necesarry but as they say necessity is the mother of invention.

Gary Ablett was literally moving forward on Sunday. After clocking up huge midfield minutes in the first three rounds, Ablett returned from his hamstring strain to the Cats forward line and provided a dangerous target who caused panic amongst the opposition whenever the Cats attacked.

But these moves don’t just happen.

Chris Scott was last year recognised by his peers as the hardest AFL coach to come up against. Scott and his team of assistants methodically plan out how to bring down the opposition each week. Scott is at pains to stress on match day he doesn’t like to say much to the team, as by that point in the week his charges have had the game plan taught to them and continually reinforced at training. This week will be no different. What can they do better from Sunday?

The Cats are still finding their feet in 2018. They aren’t perfect. But they are definitely moving forward.