After 12 rounds of the 2022 AFL season we reach the second of three bye rounds, with six clubs handed a week's break to assess their season and move onto the final stretch.
Adelaide, Geelong, Gold Coast, Sydney, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs are set for the bye this weekend, giving us the perfect time to critique and grade their campaigns to date.
We put the microscope over each of the aforementioned clubs season's and name their MVP, best win and worst loss at the midway mark of this year in part one of our mid-season report cards.
These gradings factor in pre-season expectations and form across the opening 12 rounds of the year.
SEE ALSO: Mid-season AFL report cards: Part 1
Grade:ย B-
W-L Record:ย 8-4
Percentage:ย 127.6%
The Cats have had an up and down 2022 so far, at times looking like a genuine threat come September while also seeming on track for an early finals exit.
Geelong have had some big wins against bottom of the table sides, such as North Melbourne (60 points) and Essendon (66 points) but losses against Hawthorn, St Kilda and Fremantle, all winnable games, leave the cats with an 8-4 record heading into the bye.
The forward line duo of Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron is causing as much trouble as promised, combining for a total 71 goals so far in 2022. The Cats rank first league wide for marks inside 50 per game and second in score involvements per game, with their strong forward line the cause of many headaches around the league.
Down back, second year Sam De Koning has had a breakout year. After just one match in 2021, the 21-year-old has played all but one so far this year, impressing around the club, and league, with his work in defence. Fellow defender Tom Stewart has hardly put a foot wrong, as we've come to expect, averaging 8.9 intercept possessions a game.
Niggling injury concerns for Patrick Dangerfield may be cause for concern for Cats fans heading into the second half of the season, with the 32-year-old managing eight games so far this year.
Having lost two games by ten points or less, Geelong could very easily be sitting in a different spot approaching their weekend off, but those close losses to the Saints and Freo, and a defeat at the hands of the middling Hawks, leave plenty of questions unanswered.
The Cats are on track for finals and sit in the top four heading into their bye, but seemingly still have a way to go to prove their worth as a genuine premiership contender.
MVP:ย Jeremy Cameron (90 votes)
Best Win:ย Round 1 vs Essendon
Worst Loss:ย Round 5 vs Hawthorn
