Cats Win Third Premiership In 5 Years

2011 GRAND FINAL 
GEELONG 18.11.119 d COLLINGWOOD 12.9.81

Team Line Ups

  Collingwood

• B: Heritier O'Brien, Ben Reid, Alan Toovey
• HB: Nick Maxwell, Chris Tarrant, Heath Shaw
• C: Dale Thomas, Dane Swan, Jarryd Blair
• HF: Alan Didak, Chris Dawes, Ben Johnson
• F: Steele Sidebottom, Travis Cloke, Luke Ball
• Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Leon Davis
• I/C: Sharrod Wellingham, Leigh Brown, Andrew Krakouer
• Sub: Alex Fasolo

• In: Alex Fasolo
• Out: Dayne Beams

Geelong Cats

• B: Josh Hunt, Matthew Scarlett, Tom Lonergan
• HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, David Wojcinski
• C: Andrew Mackie, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood
• HF: Steve Johnson, Tom Hawkins, Travis Varcoe
• F: Paul Chapman, James Podsiadly, James Kelly
• Foll: Brad Ottens, Cameron Ling, Joel Corey
• I/C: Mathew Stokes, Trent West, Allen Christensen
• Sub: Mitch Duncan

Milestones: Andrew Mackie - 150 games, Travis Varcoe - 100 games 

All year all every one said was PIES,PIES,PIES and at one stage during the season they were paying as little as $2 for the premiership, but Geelong had other ideas. When former coach Mark Thompson went back to the Dons and Ablett took a truck full of cash to go north to the Suns and a swag of their core group nearing or past 30 I considered the Cats on the way down. Surely top 4 but beating the Pies twice during the season and not losing until Round whatever it was to the mighty Bombers I always thought their was a chance of a preliminary final but when they asserted themselves and peaked at the end of the season it all came together.

How did they improve from last year? Well a new coach always brings a freshness to the side even if it is a coach in his first season. Brad Ottens managed to stay fit for the majority of the year, something he hasn't done for a number of seasons. But all the veterans did their part from the back line right through to the bench, with Scarlett and Enright making the All-Australian side in the Back Pockets,  Wojcinski, Hunt and Mackie returning to his best. But the midfield versatility, West's emergence as a quality ruckmen and a game plan based on using the centre corridor sweeping the ball through with numbers in the end made the pies look inept. J Pod in his second season as a mature  age rookie and Stevie J producing 50+ goals for the year, then the man mountain Tom Hawkins who I would have moved on 2 years ago hit career best form in the finals and looked unstoppable.
At the end of the GF the Cats had such an even spread of good players I didn't have a clue who would win the Norm Smith, Jimmy Bartel was as a good as choice as anyone.

But it was some new talent that gave them something extra this year I thought, players like Mitch Duncan, Trent West and exciement machine Daniel Menzel.

I could go on for another hour about how great this team was this year even if I do hate their guts, but can they go again? 

Since their victory they have had some retirements, delistings- Ottens, Ling, Milburn, Mooney, Drum and premiership ruckman Mark Blake who without playing a game this year finishes on 99 games played.

I gave them basically no hope this year I wont make the same mistake again.