One stat to watch on Thursday night
Geelong has not won after the bye in the past five seasons. The Cats also lost last season's preliminary final after a week's rest, having just fallen in against Hawthorn in the qualifying final after both team had the pre-finals bye.
Thursday night's opponent West Coast has won three and lost two post-bye in the past five seasons.
| Match after the bye | Lost by |
|---|---|
| R13, 2013 v Sydney | Six points at the SCG |
| R13, 2013 v Brisbane Lions | Five points at the Gabba |
| R9, 2014 v Fremantle | 32 points at Domain Stadium |
| R15, 2015 v North Melbourne* | 41 points at Etihad Stadium |
| R16, 2016 v Sydney | 38 points at Simonds Stadium |
*Geelong had a two-week break in 2015 because the game against Adelaide was cancelled following the death of Crows coach Phil Walsh
Taking the good with the bad
No one would argue that Daniel Menzel has had good luck in his career, given he has undergone four knee reconstructions. However, soon after completing 50 games in round 10, Menzel lobbed into the top five winning percentages of all time for players with 50 games or more experience.
He's saluted more often than any current player with 50+ games.
| Player | Wins-draws-losses | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Norm McLeod, Collingwood (1927-32) | 51-1-6 | 88.79 |
| Les Beck, Carlton (1906-09) | 53-0-7 | 88.33 |
| Doug Gillespie, Carlton (1906-12) | 75-0-15 | 83.33 |
| Fred Jinks, Carlton (1906-09) | 50-0-10 | 83.33 |
| Daniel Menzel, Geelong (2010-current) | 42-0-9 | 82.35 |
