Geelong Cats: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

Mick Stirling

Geelong Cats: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds image

A lot was expected of Geelong in 2018 but not much was delivered.

The Cats made it into September for the 13th time in the past 15 seasons, but were immediately bundled out by Melbourne and have now won just three of 11 finals since claiming the 2011 flag.

Gary Ablett’s homecoming was meant to invigorate the flagging list but the little master had trouble enough meeting his own standards, let alone lifting those of all around him.

Ablett turns 35 early in the 2019 season, and with fellow stars Joel Selwood, Tom Hawkins and Harry Taylor also already in their 30s, and Patrick Dangerfield not far behind, time is running out for this group to taste the ultimate success again before a complete rebuild is required.

List changes

In

Nathan Kreuger (state league priority selection), Gary Rohan (Sydney), Luke Dahlhaus (Western Bulldogs, pictured), Jordan Clark (Claremont), Ben Jarvis (Norwood), Jacob Kennerley (50 - Norwood), Darcy Fort (Central District), Jake Tarca (South Adelaide), Oscar Brownless (Geelong Falcons)

Luke Dahlhaus

Rookies

Tom Atkins (Geelong VFL), Blake Schlensog (category B)

Out

Lincoln McCarthy, George Horlin-Smith, Jackson Thurlow, Aaron Black, Stewart Crameri, Ryan Gardner, Cory Gregson, Matthew Hayball, Timm House, Daniel Menzel, Jordan Murdoch

Best Brownlow chances

Patrick Dangerfield $9, Gary Ablett $51, Joel Selwood $51, Tim Kelly $67

Dangerfield is still the man at the Cattery and had his seventh consecutive top-10 finish in the Brownlow in 2018. He’s not getting any younger, but the 2016 winner still has the determination to drag his team over the line when required, and the ability to look good while he does it.

#Patrick Dangerfield

And while the end of the line gets closer by the day for dual medallist Ablett, it wouldn’t surprise if he had a final ‘season in the sun’ to finish a glorious career in magnificent fashion.

Players to watch

Gary Ablett, Nakia Cockatoo

The amount of attention Gary Ablett received from the media and fans alike in 2018 is testament to the number of eyes that watch his every move. There’s no doubt his return to the Cattery wasn’t everything Geelong fans hoped it would be, but his numbers were pretty impressive nonetheless and, with a more settled run into 2019 and increased time near goals where he can use his innate, God-given talents with devastating effectiveness, we may yet see another year of Gaz’s glorious best.

Taken with pick 10 in 2014’s National Draft, Nakia Cockatoo has not reached the heights many hoped he would soar to, and while he’ll almost certainly sign a contract extension before the end of 2019, he will need to impress if he’s to be guaranteed a long stay at Kardinia Park. Hamstring injuries have made it difficult for Cockatoo to get on the ground, but his limited performances have been underwhelming, averaging under 10 disposals and less than one goal a game in his 34 career matches so far.

#Nakia Cockatoo

A last chance to watch?

Harry Taylor, Tim Kelly

There are few more loved Cats than Harry Taylor, a soldier who works tirelessly on improving his game while bringing a left-of-centre personality to the contest. It will be sad to see him go, but Taylor’s 32 years old, comes out of contract in 2019 and has undeniably lost a lot of his ability to hurt opposition sides as he turned defence into attack time and time again. To get the best out of his big man Chris Scott will most likely try Taylor in attack again, but it didn’t work too well in 2018 and that finish against the Bulldogs could haunt Harry till his deathbed.

2019 won’t be the last time Tim Kelly graces an AFL ground, but it will almost certainly be in different colours after next year. It will be strange for Geelong fans to watch the exciting West Australian, wanting him to play at his best for the team’s sake and to raise his price come trade time, but with every quality possession and classy finish reminding them of what they’re going to be missing by the time 2020 comes around. Or is there a way to convince him to stay?

Geelong Cats’ 2019 list

Number Name Games Date of birth Height, weight Position
45 Abbott, Ryan  25 Jun 1991  200cm 100kg Ruck
4 Ablett, Gary Jnr  321  14 May 1984  182cm 87kg Midfield
30 Atkins, Tom (R) 0      
24 Bews, Jed  71  14 Dec 1993  186cm 88kg Defender
46 Blicavs, Mark  133  28 Mar 1991  198cm 100kg Defender
20 Brownless, Oscar    187cm 75kg Forward
12 Buzza, Wylie  2 Mar 1996  199cm 102kg Forward
6 Clark, Jordan    185cm 81kg Defender
5 Cockatoo, Nakia  34  23 Oct 1996  186cm 90kg Midfield
18 Constable, Charlie  18 May 1999  191cm 86kg Midfield
31 Cunico, Jordan  15  7 May 1996  185cm 80kg Midfield
6 Dahlhaus, Luke  154  21 Aug 1992  179cm 77kg Midfield
35 Dangerfield, Patrick  224  5 Apr 1990  189cm 92kg Midfield
22 Duncan, Mitch  180  10 Jun 1991  188cm 88kg Midfield
13 Fogarty, Lachlan  15  1 Apr 1999  180cm 76kg Forward
28 Fort, Darcy 0     Defender
29 Guthrie, Cameron  141  19 Aug 1992  187cm 86kg   Midfield
39 Guthrie, Zach  16  30 Jun 1998  187cm 76kg Defender
26 Hawkins, Tom  232  21 Jul 1988  198cm 103kg Forward
25 Henderson, Lachlan  165  14 Dec 1989  196cm 98kg Defender
38 Henry, Jack  22  29 Aug 1998  191cm 92kg Defender
10 Jarvis, Ben    189cm 82kg Forward
41 Jones, Jamaine  29 Sep 1998  180cm 81kg Forward
11 Kelly, Tim  23  26 Jul 1994  183cm 82kg Midfield
21 Kennerley, Jacob    186cm 77kg Midfield
8 Kolodjashnij, Jake  70  9 Aug 1995  193cm 94kg Defender
15 Kreuger, Nathan 0   196cm 88kg Forward
27 Menegola, Sam  53  7 Mar 1992  189cm 89kg Midfield
32 Miers, Gryan  30 Mar 1999  178cm 78kg Forward
19 Narkle, Quinton  3 Dec 1997  181cm 80kg Forward
42 O'Connor, Mark  17 Jan 1997  191cm 87kg Defender
43 Okunbor, Stefan 0      
3 Parfitt, Brandan  34  27 Apr 1998  180cm 79kg Midfield
34 Parsons, James  31  12 Apr 1997  189cm 82kg Forward
17 Ratugolea, Esava  24 Jul 1998  197cm 102kg Forward
16 Rohan, Gary  106  7 Jun 1991  189cm 92kg Forward
36 Schlensog, Blake (R)  25 Sep 2000  195cm 90kg Forward
14 Selwood, Joel  272  26 May 1988  183cm 84kg Midfield
16 Selwood, Scott  167  27 Mar 1990  186cm 88kg Midfield
37 Simpson, Sam  14 Jun 1998  180cm 74kg Forward
9 Smith, Zac  112  22 Feb 1990  206cm 105kg Ruck
1 Stanley, Rhys  115  1 Dec 1990  200cm 102kg Ruck
44 Stewart, Tom 43  15 Mar 1993  190cm 88kg Defender
33 Tarca, Jake 0 23 Feb 2000 175cm 75kg Forward
7 Taylor, Harry  237  12 Jun 1986  195cm 94kg Defender
2 Tuohy, Zach  168  10 Dec 1989  187cm 93kg Defender


 

Geelong Cats’ 2019 Fixture 

Round Date Opponent Venue
1 Friday 22 March 7:50pm   Collingwood MCG
2 Saturday 30 March 7:25pm Melbourne GMHBA Stadium
3 Thursday 4 April 7:20pm  Adelaide  Adelaide Oval
4 Saturday 13 April 1:45pm  GWS Giants GMHBA Stadium
5 Monday 22 April 3:20pm Hawthorn MCG
6 Sunday 28 April 4:40pm  West Coast GMHBA Stadium
7 Sunday 5 May 3:20pm Essendon MCG
8 Sunday 12 May 1:10pm  North Melbourne Marvel Stadium
9 Saturday 18 May 4:35pm  Western Bulldogs GMHBA Stadium
10 Saturday 25 May 7:25pm  Gold Coast Metricon Stadium
11 Saturday 1 June 4:35pm Sydney GMHBA Stadium
12 Friday 7 June 7:50pm Richmond MCG
13 BYE    
14 Saturday 22 June 7:10pm  Port Adelaide  Adelaide Oval
15 Friday 28 June 7:50pm Adelaide GMHBA Stadium
16 Saturday 6 July 7:25pm  Western Bulldogs Marvel Stadium
17 Saturday 13 July 7:25pm  St Kilda GMHBA Stadium
18 Sunday 21 July 1:10pm Hawthorn MCG
19 Sunday 28 July 3:20pm  Sydney SCG
20 Saturday 3 August 2:35pm  Fremantle  Optus Stadium
21 Saturday 10 August 7:25pm  North Melbourne GMHBA Stadium
22 Saturday 17 August 2:10pm  Brisbane Gabba
23 TBC Carlton GMHBA Stadium

Games played on

Thursday: 1
Friday: 3
Saturday: 11
Sunday: 6
Monday: 1

Teams played twice

Sydney, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide, North Melbourne

Geelong Cats Dangerfield Selwood Ablett

2019 Preview and premiership odds

A sustained period of success and a list still featuring some of the biggest stars of the game makes it impossible to write off Geelong, but for the first time in a long time they will be entering a season outside of the top eight in flag favouritism, starting as the 10th most likely at $18.

If their biggest names can lift their weary legs the Cats can’t be written off: Ablett, Selwood, Hawkins and Dangerfield are alone a force to put fear into opposition sides when flying, but the support isn’t strong and it’s hard to carry a side on aging shoulders.

Chris Scott knows there’s not a lot of young talent coming through and 2019 could be the last roll of the dice, so he’ll be investing in magic oils and liniments to extract the best from his best.

Expect Geelong to throw everything into it’s upcoming campaign, but it’s hard to see it being enough.

#Chris Scott

Mick Stirling