Team: GEELONG
Ins: Marcus Drum (Fremantle), Daniel Menzel (Central District), Mitchell Duncan (East Perth), Allan Christensen (Geelong Falcons), Nathan Vardy (Gippsland Power), Josh Cowan (North Ballarat Rebels), Jeremy Laidler (promoted rookie). Rookies - Jack Weston (Gippsland Power), Ben Johnson (Geelong VFL), James Podsiadly (Geelong VFL), Jesse Stringer (Port Adelaide Magpies).
Outs: Matthew Egan (delisted), Dan McKenna (delisted), Kane Tenace (delisted), Bryn Weadon (delisted), Adam Donohue (delisted), Scott Simpson (delisted), Tom Harley (retired), David Johnson (retired), Shane Mumford (Sydney Swans).
Draw: It's hard to have a tough draw when you're favoured to win almost every match you go in to, but Geelong's isn't the easiest going around. The Cats play 2009 finalists Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and expected improvers Hawthorn and West Coast twice, while they also only have seven matches at Skilled Stadium - down from eight in previous years. But working in their favour, they only meet St Kilda and Western Bulldogs once in Round 13 and Round 20 respectively. Geelong will travel interstate five times including twice to Western Australia, but its toughest patch comes late in the season when it plays Hawthorn, Adelaide away, Brisbane, Sydney away, Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs in successive weeks. The Cats have avoided a tricky run into the finals with a Round 22 match at home against West Coast.
Strengths: The Cats are blessed with one of the best midfields in history with Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood and Joel Corey all already superstars of the game. Throw into the mix fellow All-Australians Cameron Ling, Corey Enright, Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson and you have eight A-graders rotating through the midfield. Geelong's three-year dominance has also been built on its miserly defence. Matthew Scarlett has been the best full-back for the past decade and with Harry Taylor, Darren Milburn, Andrew Mackie, Corey Enright and the returning Josh Hunt there is an outstanding back six that can match it with any forward line.
Weaknesses: The lack of key forwards hasn't stopped Geelong from winning two premierships in the past three years, but it is definitely its Achilles heel. The Cats will be hoping prodigy Tom Hawkins continues his improvement to be the dominant key forward the club has craved for years. With Cameron Mooney entering perhaps his last season with the club, the Cats recruited smartly to draft mature-aged rookie James Podsiadly, who will definitely get his chance at AFL level 10 years after first being drafted by Essendon. Another factor working against the Cats is the age of their key players with Milburn (33 in April), Scarlett (30 in June), Mooney (30) and Brad Ottens (30) all entering the twilight of their careers.
X-Factor: Since being drafted in 2007, Hawkins has been touted as the next big dominant forward in the game. Geelong has taken a patient approach with its young star, playing him in just 19 games in his first two seasons. After not playing a final in either 2007 or 2008, Hawkins played 24 out of 25 games in 2009 and was a valuable contributor in the 12-point grand final win over St Kilda with two goals, including one in the tense final quarter. After another strong pre-season, the 21-year-old looks set to make a big impact in 2010.
Best 22:
B: Hunt, Scarlett, Milburn
HB: Enright, Taylor, Mackie
C: Corey, Ling, Bartel
HF: Chapman, Hawkins, Johnson
F: Byrnes, Mooney, Varcoe
R: Ottens, Ablett, Selwood
IC: Kelly, Wojcinski, Rooke, Blake
After Round 22: 2nd. Two-time premiership captain Tom Harley is the only player missing from the 22 that won the grand final last year so there's no reason to suggest the Cats won't be up there again this season. While some players are entering the final years of their career, the likes of Ablett, Bartel, Corey, Johnson and Chapman are at the peak of their powers, and with the continual rise of young stars Selwood, Hawkins, Taylor and Travis Varcoe, Geelong definitely has at least one more year of its 'premiership window'.