It sent tongues wagging in the first week of the JLT series, so what is the story behind the Cats new short-sleeved guernsey?

In October 2016, the Cats announced that from 2017 onwards that their official merchandise partner would be locally based fashion giant Cotton On through their performance brand COAR:

Aside from partnering with one of Australia’s most exciting retail brands, the benefit to the Cats was also that Cotton On’s headquarters are located just down the road in North Geelong. This meant that a contingent of senior Cats players were able to make frequent trips to work with Cotton On designers on all the official team gear.

One of the key player led innovations was a short-sleeved guernsey they could wear on game-day. Such a decision was not taken lightly and there were questions raised amongst the playing group when the idea was floated. However, once samples were created and the players had the opportunity to wear them in training sessions, all fears dissipated. The short-sleeved guernseys were comfortable, lightweight and importantly in the summer months provided more sun protection.

Unfortunately for the Cats players who thought they were re-inventing AFL guernsey designs, like everything in fashion, what is new is actually old. As the photo below shows, Cats players a century ago were looking very stylish in their short-sleeved playing tops.

Tastes change over a century so we reached out to over 2000 Cats members after Friday night to gauge their thoughts on the short-sleeved design. Contrary to the vocal critics on social media, Cats members were overwhelming in their support of the guernsey with 87% supporting the trial of the guernsey in the JLT Series and 27% saying they would purchase the short-sleeved guernsey.

Those who want to purchase the guernsey will need to hurry though as the Cats Shop is reporting strong sales following the weekend’s game.

And being a new guernsey doesn't mean it is just for the millenials either. As Fox Footy's Dwayne Russell pointed out on Friday night, the design with sleeves is something those of us without a Rhys Stanley body may be more comfortable wearing down the street to show our support.

Whilst the experiment with the short-sleeved guernsey has been positive after the first game, the Cats are also conscious of retaining the heritage of the traditional hooped guernsey and there are no plans at the moment to introduce a short-sleeved guernsey into the home and away season.

But what would the traditional hooped guernsey look like with sleeves? Check it out below.