THE loss of Mitch Duncan, who broke his foot against the Swans in round seven, has been a major blow for the Cats.
But one positive to emerge in the absence of Duncan is the form of Josh Caddy, who has stepped up his midfield time to cover for his injured mate.
The 22-year-old has become Joel Selwood's main helper when it comes to winning the ball at stoppages.
After tallying just 16 clearances in the first five rounds, Caddy has won 47 clearances in his past seven games, with a high of nine against West Coast in round nine.
The effort has propelled him into the top 30 clearance winners in the competition.
In fact, Caddy and Selwood are the only Geelong players in the top 60.
The following table is the top 22 clearance winners this season.
| PLAYER | CENTRE BOUNCES | THROW-INS | BALL-UPS | TOTAL CLEARANCES |
| Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) | 44 | 45 | 18 | 107 |
| Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide) | 41 | 35 | 19 | 95 |
| Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne) | 38 | 22 | 32 | 92 |
| Matt Priddis (West Coast) | 38 | 26 | 27 | 91 |
| David Mundy (Fremantle) | 30 | 36 | 21 | 87 |
| Scott Thompson (Adelaide) | 36 | 30 | 20 | 86 |
| Joel Selwood (Geelong) | 47 | 22 | 17 | 86 |
| Josh Kennedy (Sydney Swans) | 31 | 39 | 15 | 85 |
| Lachie Neale (Fremantle) | 14 | 53 | 15 | 82 |
| Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide) | 39 | 24 | 17 | 80 |
| Dayne Beams (Brisbane Lions) | 37 | 24 | 17 | 78 |
| David Armitage (St Kilda) | 24 | 34 | 19 | 77 |
| Callan Ward (Greater Western Sydney) | 32 | 31 | 10 | 73 |
| Dane Swan (Collingwood) | 21 | 35 | 17 | 73 |
| Luke Shuey (West Coast) | 41 | 21 | 9 | 71 |
| Michael Rischitelli (Gold Coast) | 28 | 28 | 13 | 69 |
| Luke Parker (Sydney Swans) | 24 | 29 | 15 | 68 |
| Dion Prestia (Gold Coast) | 29 | 25 | 11 | 65 |
| Anthony Miles (Richmond) | 21 | 28 | 16 | 65 |
| Trent Cotchin (Richmond) | 18 | 29 | 17 | 64 |
| Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne) | 30 | 15 | 18 | 63 |
| Josh Caddy (Geelong) | 17 | 26 | 20 | 63 |
Last season, Caddy, who started his career with Gold Coast and has now played 70 AFL games, won 42 clearances in 16 matches.
So it is clear that in the Cats' time of need he has stepped up and become a genuine hard man around the stoppages.
