There was no easy path into the Geelong team for Mitch Duncan, when he was drafted by the Cats at the end of 2009 season. 

Joining a team that had featured in three consecutive Grand Finals and had won two premierships, the Geelong list was littered with champion players and some of the competition's top stars, particularly through the midfield. 

With a mountain to climb in order to solidify his place in the team, Duncan set about doing what he does best......putting his head down and working hard. 

As Cameron Ling reminisces, it was the 2011 season that set Duncan on the right path as he worked his way into the side and ultimately, became a premiership player. 

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To The Final Bell Round 11 | GMHBA Blockbuster Awaits

The Cats put in a powerful performance in Adelaide and return to set up for another massive clash agains the Dogs at home. Lingy and Meg break down all the performances and discuss the impact of Mitch Duncan ahead of his 300th game. Proudly Presented by GMHBA.

"My favourite memory strangely enough, because he has had better games and more dominant seasons, goes back to my last season and his second season at the club (2011)," Ling said. 

"We and particularly I challenged him. I said Mitch, if you are going to be part of a Finals run for us and want a shot at a premiership, you have to learn to be inside and outside.

"We want you using your outside attributes, but in a Grand Final or a Prelim Final, the ball doesn't live out there much. You have got to be strong on the inside when your time comes.

"The work that he put in throughout that whole year, we did his edits together, he would do extra work with Joel Selwood or a Joel Corey in the contested stuff.

"I talked to him about it at the time, it might be for one moment in a Grand Final where you have to body-line the ball, you have to take the footy and you can't fumble, because every teammate is making a decision based on you not fumbling in that situation.

To his credit he did it, against the reigning champions, Collingwood he came on, had an impact, played a really important role. I loved and cherished the growth of him throughout that year, that was the last time I got to play with him."

The youngest member of the Cats 2011 team on Grand Final day, Duncan started as the substitute in what was just the 29th game of his AFL career. 

Entering the game midway through the second quarter, Duncan went on to finish with 10 disposals while also booting a crucial goal near the end of the third quarter. 

That 2011 season then paved the way for what followed, now sitting at 299 games with a second premiership under his belt, which came in Geelong's 2022 triumph. 

Ling said that he remembers Duncan being a 'sponge,' during the year, looking to absorb as much information from the Cats champions as he could. 

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - MAY 15: Mitch Duncan poses for a photograph celebrating his upcoming 300th match at GMHBA Stadium on May 15, 2025 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos)

"Kids from Perth, they come over and they kinda have that surfy vibe, pretty cruisy and laid-back," Ling said. 

"I thought Mitch might be a real confident kid, wondering what he was about. Then the training started and we thought no, this kid wants to work.

"He listened to everything, the old cliche of 'be a sponge' when you are a young player, soaking up all that information, that was Mitch.

"He would soak up everything from Joel Selwood, he would get it from Corey Enright, from Joel Corey, from me while I was there and from Matty Scarlett. He would absorb it all and then get to work on it."