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]
Strengths
Experience: As previously mentioned, Geelong is the most experienced side in the competition, with an average of 25.7 years of age across their list and 96.6 average games across the board.
The majority of their list has experience in big finals and they know what it's like, which helps them going into another campaign.
The Cats use their experience to beat down on the younger inexperienced teams in the competition, which sees them continually perform strongly across the season.
10 players have over 200 games of experience, an asset that not many teams boast in the competition.
Consistency:ย Geelong just knows how to get the double chance come finals time.
11 out of the last 15 preliminary finals have featured the Cats and it's a testament to the longevity of their playing list, and the club's ability to keep bringing experienced heads in to prolong that level of excellence every season.
As they use Kardinia Park's unique dimensions to suffocate the opposition, Scott's side make it so hard for the opposition to score and come away with a win.
Expect another strong season at home and don't be surprised if the Cats finish the home and away season with another top-four finish.
