“I think we’re slowly starting to see what they bring to the table… They’re only going to get better going forward,” Lonergan told Cats TV on Argue the Toss this week.
“Hamish has been fantastic in the middle, providing really good contests and also going forward,” Lonergan said.
McIntosh, an athletic but injury-prone ruckman, joined the Cats from North Melbourne during the 2012 trade period.
Gullan maintained that experts were right to question the acquisition of the mature age players, but admits McIntosh and Rivers have changed the dynamic of the Cats team.
“I’m adamant that it makes Geelong a legitimate premiership chance,” Gullan told Cats TV, excited about the McIntosh-Simpson ruck duo.
“Go back to last year, (Geelong) did it without two ruckmen and were a kick away from the Grand Final.
“The jury was out, it had to be, Hamish hadn’t played for 18 months so we didn’t know if he could even kick and now he’s come in and he’s been unbelievable,” Gullan said.
Rivers joined the Cats in 2012 during the free agency period after playing 150 games with the Demons. He had a career best performance against the Eagles on the weekend with 24 disposals and 12 marks.
“Riv probably played his best game for the club on the weekend… It took him back to his glory days at Melbourne I think.
“He had a proactive position on his man, coming off and taking marks and getting in the way, I think that’s when he plays his best footy,” Lonergan said.
“You just forget how good he was. He was a rising star at Melbourne and came here, had injuries, he’s sort of a bit forgotten,” Gullan said.
“You saw it on the weekend, he’s a gun, so I think we’re now seeing it,” Gullan said.
