By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
IT’S BETTER this way.
Missing the finals allows Geelong to focus on the future, get its list sorted and get an early start on the pre-season.
Had the Cats scraped into the finals it would have been fairly pointless exercise, with no real prospect of advancing to any meaningful stage.
While coach Chris Scott in his public pronouncements has always said his charges would try their best this season, match committee decisions have always tipped a broad wink to the future.
Geelong’s cautious approach to injuries, allowing players to take extra time to return to full fitness, was a clear indicator that 2015 success was not the ultimate objective.
The arrival of Mitch Clark and Rhys Stanley at the start of the season engendered hope for this year but early results demonstrated the gap between Geelong and the league leaders.
But the hopes for 2016 will be on a more solid basis given the improvement and health of Geelong’s list.
List management supremo Steven Wells is still in charge and guiding the crucial decisions over the off-season, a reason for positivity in itself.
Successful returns for Daniel Menzel, Nathan Vardy and Josh Cowan have boosted spirits and the re-signing of Steve Motlop demonstrates player confidence in the club’s direction.
Motlop faced a tough decision, with other clubs, notably Richmond, placing a great deal of temptation in his path.
Scott will hope Mitch Duncan remains injury-free next season in order to fully flourish as an A-grade midfielder, along with the improved Josh Caddy.
But it’s the rookies that give even greater encouragement for a return to finals action next season.
The Cats have three nominees in this year’s rising star award, the most of any club: Cory Gregson, Jackson Thurlow and Darcy Lang.
The trio proved their nominations were no fluke by playing almost every game this season.
Add to that the excitement of a developing Nakia Cockatoo and Scott has reason to feel the youth policy will pay dividends.
Missing finals can be seen as a waste of a year. Perhaps if the decisions to cut some veterans made last week had been done last season, some of the younger brigade would have benefited from further development.
But it’s a balancing act between blooding the new and respecting the old, and most fans would feel that balance was achieved.
Clearly however the remaining veterans will need to demonstrate they are not holding young players out of spots.
The trading period will be fascinating to watch to see how much of the Patrick Dangerfield, Lachie Henderson and Scott Selwood rumour mill has been based on reality.
