Geelong are the AFL's model of consistency, with their ability to stay up the top-end of the ladder for over a decade now.
The Cats have made the preliminary final an impressive 11 times in the past 15 seasons, including last season, however, their latest attempt ended badly when suffering an 83-point thrashing at the hands of eventual premiers Melbourne.
Chris Scott's side boasts the most experienced team in the competition, and their premiership window continues to remain open despite their recent poor finals record - a mere 6-13 under Chris Scott since the 2011 flag.
Tom Stewart continues to impress as one of the best defenders in the competition, whilst the cattery also boasts a strong engine room with the likes of Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Cameron Guthrie and Mitch Duncan.
Down forward is where the Cats are at their most dangerous with the twin towers in Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron still in great form and will look to continue their heavy scoring and assisting outputs in 2022.
The lack of youth throughout the side is a particular concern, with the exception of recent draftees in ruckman Toby Conway and hard-running midfielder Mitch Knevitt, but the star talent is hard to ignore in this side, and it should find the Cats up the top-end of the ladder once again in 2022.
Off-Season Moves
Ins: Jonathon Ceglar [Hawthorn], Tyson Stengle [Woodville-West Torrens], Toby Conway [pick 24], Mitch Knevitt [pick 25], James Willis [pick 32], Flynn Kroeger [pick 48], Cooper Whyte [pick 64], Oliver Dempsey [Rookie Draft pick 15]
Outs: Jordan Clark [Fremantle], Charlie Constable [Gold Coast], Darcy Fort [Brisbane], Lachie Henderson [retired], Oscar Brownless [delisted], Josh Jenkins [retired], Ben Jarvis [delisted], Nathan Kreuger [Collingwood], Stefan Okunbor [delisted], Cameron Taheny [delisted]
Last Season
Geelong's season looked similar to previous seasons of late, with the Cats performing strongly in the regular season securing the double chance, before another underwhelming finals series that saw them beaten by Port Adelaide and Melbourne convincingly.
The expectations are always high on Geelong given the talent on their list but their poor finals efforts beg the question if they can go all the way with the list that they currently possess.
Chris Scott's side will be ruing their Round 23 loss to Melbourne, blowing a 44-point lead and subsequently a home qualifying final spot, which led to travelling to Adelaide instead of staying in their home state.
Despite the poor end to their 2021 campaign, Geelong will be looking forward to the start of the season due to their talent all over the ground and a massive home ground advantage at their GMHBA Stadium fortress.
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After a breakout season in 2020, Cameron Guthrie continued his impressive output, averaging a career-high 29 disposals per game and was the club's leading vote-getter at the Brownlow Medal with 18 votes.
Chris Scott will look to his star players including Guthrie, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Stewart and Tom Hawkins to produce another stellar campaign as they eye off another top four finish to set Scott up for potentially another flag for the first time since 2011.
