The usual suspects starred but the performances of some unfamiliar faces gave Geelong plenty to feel good about in 2019 after a 28-point JLT Community Series win over Essendon.
Captain Joel Selwood (38 possessions) and Patrick Dangerfield (30) did what they do while new recruits Gary Rohan (four goals) and Luke Dahlhaus (25 disposals) also had impressive outings in the 15.11 (101) to 11.7 (73) triumph.
“We’re all really pleased with how those guys performed together tonight,” Cats assistant coach Nigel Lappin said of new forwards Rohan, Dahlhaus and Tom Atkins.
“They’ve trained really well all pre-season and prided themselves on their defensive pressure and that really shone out.
MORE: GWS downplay reports Callan Ward is in 'serious doubt' for round one |
“Most of our scores were off the back of either attacking-mid turnovers or stoppages and it was really impressive.
“Guys like Tom Atkins, Luke Dahlhaus and obviously Gary Rohan got on the end of it.
“All those guys have been fantastic for us all season and it was really nice to see them play well together.”
The assistant coach added of Rohan, who returned home to Geelong at the end of 2018 after 106 senior games for the Sydney Swans.
“Gary’s been training really well, post-Christmas he’s been running really well and putting extra sessions in to make sure that he’s in really good shape going into the season,” Lappin said.
“The thing that you saw with Gary tonight and the part we really like was just his composure with ball in hand.
“He made really good decisions and when he got his opportunities he made others look good as well, so really pleased for him.”
