Each week has been a blessing for the Cats ruckman Hamish McIntosh after believing his career was done due to multiple injuries that kept him off the field for two long years.
McIntosh, who has been a prominent feature in the Cats opening five clashes, admitted that he was confronted with the fear that his footy days were over.
“I definitely had moments where I thought I’d never get back,” McIntosh told AFL 360.
“Last year there were times I didn’t think my body could stand up to the load of AFL footy ... I’d train for 4-5 weeks then I’d break down again.
“There were times I went home and spoke to people and said, ‘Maybe I’m not up to it’.
“I’m really just enjoying and cherishing every game I get.”
Monday’s victory over the Hawks in front of a deafening crowd of eighty thousand is a game that McIntosh will never forget.
“I played in a preliminary final at North but the atmosphere out there was just an electric feeling ... in that last quarter when scores were level you can’t hear a thing over the crowd. I was trying to call out to Dawson (Simpson) to have a rest and you literally can’t hear from 4-5 metres away.”
Another player that rose to the intensity of Monday's big game was the Cats veteran Steve Johnson.
Again, Geelong’s senior coach Chris Scott believed Johnson’s performance in the contest was electric.
“We don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for his contested work, he’s a brilliant contested player,” Scott told FOX Footy On the Couch.
“He’s a bigger player than most people realise as well.”
Against the Hawks on Easter Monday, Johnson tore down the MCG with a game high performance of 34 touches, six clearances and three goals.
Scott says Johnson realises his unpredictable play can be frustrating for his teammates but it is something he is working on going forward.
However, the extraordinary things that Johnson does during play are things that you could never get right every time.
“We know he’s mercurial and he can do amazing things with the ball — good and bad — but he is a handful for his opposition, and he can frustrate his own teammates as well,” Scott said.
“We have a really open dialogue about that. I see my role with Steve as one where I help him and give him some ideas to improve his game.
“As I’ve said a number of times, with players like that who do some unbelievable things, things that other players wouldn’t even think of doing, you’ve got to accept it’s not going to go perfectly every time.”
