What geelongcats.com.au will be keeping an eye on when we face the Saints on Friday night.

All Eyes On… The Darty Party

It’s impossible to ignore the impact Dartmoor’s finest export has had on the Cats since his debut against the Eagles in RD6.

On a personal level, he’s kicked 12 goals in three games, including six against the reigning premiers last week, to which he added eight marks and 22 disposals. His presence alone has freed up Gary Rohan to get off the leash, making the Cats’ infinitely more dangerous forward of centre.

His ability to be the link-up man up the ground and fold back into the forward 50 will be giving Brett Ratten and his coaching staff some sleepless nights this week for the pressure his constant run puts on the defence.

Take a look at these numbers: +115 disposals, +18 i50s, +13 clearances, +34 contested possessions, +91 uncontested possessions, +41 marks and +9 tackles. It’s a small sample size, and it’s not all attributable to Cameron, but the Cats are clearly a much better outfit with him on the park.

And we didn’t even mention Tom Hawkins.

All Eyes On… The Hawkins Way

With all the talk about Cameron and Rohan, it’s almost been missed how immense Tom Hawkins has been. In fact, you can make an argument that he was the most dominant player on the field against the Tigers.

Without Hawkins’ team-first approach to sharing his space with Cameron, Jezz wouldn’t be thriving the way he has, and the Cats wouldn’t be as good. It’s that simple.

These numbers alone tell a pretty compelling story: 20 disposals at 75%, 16 score involvements, 11 contested possessions, seven marks and 4.1. And since 2016, Hawkins is ranked #2 and #3 in score assists and score involvements respectively. There may not have been a more selfless key forward in the history of the game.

Next time you’re in the stands, watch the movement of the Geelong forwards – even Chris Scott said that he was surprised about how quickly this group has jelled, but with a team-first operator like Hawkins setting the tone, perhaps we shouldn’t be.  

All Eyes On… The Engine Room 

If the forwards aren’t getting the footy, they’re not scoring, and the Geelong mids have been straight bullying their opponents over the last month.

Over the first four rounds of the season, the Cats ranked 13th in the competition for contested possession differential. They’re now ranked number one. Clearance differential? They’ve gone from 10th to second.

A tip of the hat goes to Joel Selwood here whose fierce attack on the footy set the tone against the Tigers; finishing the game with a team-high 11 contested possessions. Unsurprisingly, his 11.9 per game mark is leading the team, just ahead of Cam Guthrie and Sam Menegola.

The good news is we’re seeing the reward for effort – the Cats are averaging an extra five goals a match in that time.

All Eyes On… Marvellous Marvel Stadium

Cats fans of a certain vintage will have mostly fond memories of the epic tussles with the Saints a decade or so ago. 26 September 2009 comes to mind.

Since then, it’s been mostly the way of the Cats. We’ve won 9 of the last 11 –  the outliers being a three-point loss and a draw in 2015/16 region, both at Docklands.

But history says they are indeed outliers, with the Cats having won far more than they’ve lost over the last decade – (the record is 24-1-8) on the expanses Marvel Stadium, which is a full 13 metres wider than GMHBA Stadium.  

It’s tough to get a read on the Saints this year, but there’s been an uptick in their form as they’ve welcomed back a few of their prime movers, but if you’re a tipster and you’re looking for something extra to hang your hat on, the Cats are 65 wins from 98 games since the doors swung open back in 2000.