A feature that has made Geelong a successful team for an extensive period of time has been the club's commitment to the long-term development of its young players. 

Now staples of the Cats starting line-up, premiership heroes such as Tom Stewart, Gryan Miers and Tom Atkins all spent significant time at VFL level before earning their chance in the AFL. 

Others like Shannon Neale, Ollie Dempsey, Zach Guthrie and Sam De Koning have followed a similar trajectory, plying their trade in the VFL prior to becoming stars at the elite level for Geelong. 

Another emerging youngster looking to carve out his own journey is athletic forward, Jay Polkinghorne, who led Geelong's VFL goal-kicking last year with 31 goals from 17 games. 

His consistency was incredible, hitting the scoreboard in all bar one game, but Polkinghorne said that seeing others follow an identical path fills him with confidence heading into the future. 

"The VFL program is run very well," Polkinghorne told Cats Media. 

"I have seen someone like a George Stevens last year who was dominating the VFL, then his transition into AFL went pretty smoothly.

"His first game was very good and just seeing that, it gives me a lot of confidence and to all the boys that are playing in the VFL.

"So when our time does come, it should be very good as well."

If his first outing of the year was anything to go by, Polkinghorne certainly looks comfortable at the next level after playing a terrific role against Hawthorn in Monday's match simulation. 

Flying high for marks and looking dangerous inside 50, the 19-year-old finished with three goals and combined beautifully alongside fellow young forwards in Shannon Neale and Ollie Henry. 

Polkinghorne spoke on the young Cats trio and the impact they have been able to have over the pre-season, also noting who he has been able to learn from. 

"It was good to play a decent game, it is just something to build off of," Polkinghorne said. 

"Hopefully I can continue with that, playing alongside Ollie [Henry] and 'Scratch' [Neale]. They are very good at what they do, so it is good to learn off them. 

"For me, the pre-season was about getting fitter and faster with my footwork.

"I have been working pretty closely with a few players like Shannon Neale and Jez [Cameron], just with my footwork and body work, which I think has helped me." 

Polkinghorne also touched on the impact of some coaches that have helped him early in his career, as he prepares to head into his second season at Geelong. 

"Probably Nigel Lappin, he is the one that I have been working with closely over the last year," Polkinghorne said. 

"Also 'Harry' [Mark Corrigan] the VFL coach, along with the high performance guys. I have worked a lot with them because I needed a lot of improvement in that, so I worked pretty closely with them.

"But we are pretty lucky with who we have got here. I think what you do over the pre-season stacks up, then putting it into games and seeing it come into play is pretty satisfying."