Double Standards and Inflated Egos.

Jon Ralph’s article about the Cats side in the Sunday Herald Sun on May 6, 2007 did not mince words.

Sitting at the top of the double page spread was the Cats official 2007 team photo and icons placed on top of each player. The icons denoted five categories; Improved, Stagnated, Gone Backwards, The Young Ones and Injured.

Looking back with hindsight it can be easy to see that classifying Cameron Ling, Corey Enright, David Wojcinski and Andrew Mackie as stagnated wasn’t the right call nor Steve Johnson, Tom Harley and James Kelly in going backwards.

To be fair to Ralph, he admitted he may have been a tad hasty when he caught up with Mathew Stokes six years later to discuss the piece. Check out their chat below.

But on that Sunday, the Cats were two wins and three losses and the same questions that were asked at the end of 2006 were being asked again.

The week before they had capitulated to the Kangaroos at home, leading to coach Mark Thompson saying the team had 'a lack of respect for the game and the opposition'.

By the end of the day however, the scoreboard would read Geelong 35.12 222 to Richmond 9.11 65. 

If it was under 10s, the newspaper would have read team effort next to the best players for the Cats. Alas, the umpires found it fitting to award Gary Ablett Jnr three votes for his 32 disposal and three goal effort. 

It was a performance that made the entire competition sit up and take notice. Not only was it the highest score Richmond had ever conceded, it was also their greatest ever loss. Richmond officials described it as their “darkest hour”. 

Premiership captain Cameron Ling recalled it wasn’t a massive shift that led to the side’s turnaround. 

“One of the things that did come out during that week was we realised that this attacking football we were wanting to play was only good when we won the contest and really defended well.” Ling told To The Final Bell presented by Panther Tyres.

“Rather than just playing a complete shoot out.”

“A shootout was from one end of the ground to the other, we hopefully win it back and then we try and move it the length of the ground, that wasn’t working." 

“We had the ball first of all because we won it in a contest, or we got it back in a hurry and we could attack again.”

“That was our focus going into that game. Contest and defend well.”

“From that we just realised ‘oh wow, we can play’.”

Ling said the Cats confidence grew from that day in what would ultimately become a record-breaking premiership season.

“It made us just have this belief that everything we were doing was right we just got to do some of those basic areas better and then we are bloody good at what we do.” 

“Of course, Stevie (Steve Johnson) coming back from suspension thought it was all him!”

Johnson had been suspended by the club for six weeks following an off-field indiscretion in the pre-season.

Speaking to the Herald Sun’s Scott Gullan, Johnson revealed how he slyly played in the game due to an open interpretation of a club imposed suspension.

“I was originally suspended for the first six games of 2007 and I was playing in the VFL,” Johnson said.

“I was playing in the VFL and I played through the midfield to get some extra fitness and I played at a pretty good level.

“Through that period I was hinting to the coaches, saying ‘Round 6, Round 6, Round 6’. I kept telling them that’s when I’m back even though I think originally it was meant to be a six-game suspension.”

However, it was a new and improved Johnson that was returning for the Cats, one focussed on making amends to his teammates and the club.

“I was just so keen to be the best team player I could be from that point on and I remember there were a couple of times in the Richmond game where I had an opportunity to shoot for goal which I probably would have taken in the past.” Johnson said.

“But I decided to pull it back, square it up and put it to someone in a better spot. I remember my teammates getting around me and just gave me this huge buzz.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is what it’s all about’. That was a massive turnaround for me.”

The Cats would go on to win all but one game for the remainder of 2007 on their way to claiming the club’s first premiership in 44 years.