The term ‘hard-nosed midfielder’ gets thrown around a lot in football these days.

But when you look at Geelong’s VFL listed on-ballers, there is no better way to describe them.

VFL stalwarts Tom Atkins and James Tsitas have been joined by Luke Kiel and Jordan Keras this season to form a formidable midfield group for the VFL Cats.

The quartet of carnage have started the season strongly and all played a hand in the Cats’ recent win over Williamstown.

It was a game in which the Geelong midfield had to be on top of their game, lining up against an opposition filled with seasoned VFL veterans.

Cats coach Shane O’Bree acknowledged the strength of the Williamstown midfield and was pleased with own group’s efforts in Saturday’s stoppage-heavy contest.

“At the contests and clearances, it was always going to be a battle against Williamstown, they are very good at it and have a lot of experienced players,” O’Bree said.

“I thought we battled away hard and tried to change things up as a midfield group and probably wore them down in the end.”

The Cats won the contested possession battle against the Seagulls and had 136 more disposals in the match.

VFL Captain Atkins racked up 23 disposals and 11 tackles whilst Tsitas chimed in with 23 touches and a late team-lifting goal.

New Cats Kiel (19 disposals, 12 by foot) and Keras played arguably their best games for the club with the latter totalling a game-high 35 disposals (18 contested), eight tackles and five clearances.

The coach was pleased with the efforts of the midfield group and recognised the part they played in his side’s important victory.

“Keras around the contests was up for the challenge against a good VFL midfield group,” O’Bree said.

“Kiel played his best game for the club, his intent around the contest and his grunt work gave him a lot more easier ball which allowed him to use it more effectively.

“Tommy Atkins was the same to a degree, working on getting easier ball, rather than all the grunt work all the time.”

If not for the numbers on their backs, it would be easy to confuse each member of the quartet with each other due to similar body shapes and playing styles.

Atkins (180cm, 85kg), Tsitas (181cm, 85kg), Kiel (181cm, 81kg) and Keras (181cm, 83kg) not only look alike, but bring the same intent for crashing packs, winning the hard ball and putting their bodies on the line.

The four contested bulls are lifting each other to new heights in 2018 but are also having an impact on the young AFL listed players that filter through O’Bree’s side.

“When you have a young AFL group, you need those (VFL listed) guys to fill the void and wear the opposition down,” The coach said.

“They take those whacks and have done it for us so far this year when we have needed them to.”

The foursome leave everything on the field on game day and have often played crucial roles in the Cats’ wins this season.

All four have managed to hit the scoreboard throughout the first seven games but the biggest assets they provide to their side are leadership, passion and an unmatched desire to win.

The Cats will take on the Northern Blues at IKON Park on Saturday. The match kicks off at 2pm.