Geelong's sustained success has been set up by the acquisition of key players through the trade and draft, bolstering their list time and time again through an ability to identify talent. 

At a surface level, the club's recruiting strategy and execution has been simply outstanding, attracting big name players such as Jeremy Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield and Bailey Smith to the Cattery. 

But digging deeper, there always tends to be a trail that links a number of trades back over multiple years and clubs, proving that it is certainly worth playing the long game in some circumstances. 

Previously, the link between Brent Prismall and Jeremy Cameron was uncovered, a trail started with a draft pick in 2004 that led to the recruitment of one of the modern era's greatest forwards. 

With the off-season in full swing, further research uncovered more trails that linked some of Geelong's recent moves back across previous trades, including the recent acquisition of Jordan Ridley from Essendon. 

Take a look back at the top three trails that link the likes of Gary Ablett Junior and Jordan Ridley, Des Headland and Rhys Stanley, and Josh Walker with Geelong's 2023 draft crop. 

1. The link between Gary Ablett Junior and Jordan Ridley

Losing one of the greatest players the game has ever seen was certainly not the ideal scenario for Geelong, but it set in motion a long string of events that led to last week's acquisition of Jordan Ridley. 

There were compensation picks involved when Gary Ablett Junior departed the Cattery, a selection that changed hands multiple times and brought several clubs into the mix. 

It also included Jack Bowes, who played 69 games in the Hoops across the last four seasons, before being involved in the deal that brought Ridley to the club last week. 

THE TRAIL

• 2010: Gary Ablett Junior departs Geelong for the Gold Coast, the Cats receive a first-round compensation pick in return
  
  
• 2010: The Cats then move their compensation selection in a separate deal with the Suns, receiving Pick 15 in return which they used to recruit Billie Smedts
  
  
• 2011: With the Suns holding the compensation selection, they then moved that to the GWS Giants in a deal for Pick 1 in the 2011 Mini Draft
  
  
• 2011: Gold Coast then select Jaeger O'Meara with the first selection in the Mini Draft, a draft formed as an entry concession for the GWS Giants ahead of their inaugural season
  
  
• 2016: Down the track, Gold Coast then sent O'Meara to Hawthorn in exchange for Pick 10 and a future second-round selection
  
  
• 2016: That Pick 10 then became Jack Bowes
  
  
• 2022: Geelong then re-enter the fray, securing Bowes and Pick 7 from the Gold Coast, in exchange for a 2023 third-round selection
  
  
• 2026: Bowes then forms part of the Cats' first trade in this year's player movement period, securing Jordan Ridley from Essendon

2. How Des Headland and Dan Gorringe helped land a premiership ruckman

Perhaps the longest connection features the first pick in the 1998 draft, which has a link to Cats premiership ruckman Rhys Stanley. 

The wheels were set in motion when Brisbane drafted Des Headland, before a plethora of players and draft picks changed hands over the following 16 years. 

It included the famous 'Pick 21' that passed through five clubs, a confusing deal when Jared Brennan departed Brisbane and even involved Dan Gorringe at one point. 

THE TRAIL

• 1998: Brisbane use the first pick in the Draft to Select Des Headland
  
  
• 2002: Brisbane move Headland to Fremantle, securing Picks 3 and 19 in return
  
  
• 2002: With Pick 3, the Lions select Jared Brennan
  
  
• 2010: After eight seasons with Brisbane, Brennan moves to the Gold Coast in a complicated deal. Gold Coast receive a compensation selection and pick 10 (Dan Gorringe) amongst the deal
  
  
• 2012: The compensation pick is moved to the GWS Giants as part of a separate deal
  
  
• 2014: The compensation selection lands at Pick 21, which Brisbane received in an exchange with the GWS Giants for Joel Patfull
  
  
• 2014: Pick 21 then moves from Brisbane to Geelong, with the Cats sending Allen Christensen to the Lions
  
  
• 2014: Cats send Pick 21 to St Kilda, receiving Rhys Stanley and Pick 60 in return

3. Josh Walker Sparks Remarkable 2023 Draft Haul

This is a slightly shorter trail in terms of deals involved, but it also spans over 13 years and has added significance to Geelong's current playing list. 

It started when Geelong recruited Josh Walker in the 2010 rookie draft, while also involving a trade between the Cats and Lions that saw Walker and Jarrad Jansen head north. 

The connection concluded in the Cats' 2023 draft haul, helping the club to secure Mitch Edwards and Lawson Humphries. 

THE TRAIL

• 2010: Cats Select Josh Walker in the Rookie Draft - Pick 23
  
  
• 2015: Cats Trade Josh Walker & Jarrad Jansen to Brisbane for a future third-round pick
  
  
• 2016: Pick lands at #43, Cats select Esava Ratugolea
  
  
• 2023: Cats Trade Esava Ratugolea to Port Adelaide, get Picks 25, 76 and 94 in return
  
  
• 2023: Cats Select Mitch Edwards, George Stevens & Lawson Humphries with those selections