By Dan LonerganPosted October 3, 2011 11:59:00 A champion team will always beat a team of champions. Never has a statement been more accurate than when you assess the performance of Geelong in winning its ninth premiership on the weekend, and its third in the past five years.
The Cats are a classic example of a champion team - from their administration, led for many years by astute president Frank Costa before he passed on the baton seamlessly to Colin Carter, and chief executive Brian Cook, arguably the best CEO in the game - to their footy department, headed by Neil Balme and new coach Chris Scott, who has done the unthinkable and coach a premiership side in his debut season.
Everyone at that club has a specific role to play, knows that role and performs it to the best of their ability. They are in it together both on and off the field.
It can be argued that Scott took over a talented list and that is true, but it can also be said that a large portion of their better players had played their best football and their number one star, Gary Ablett, had left to join the Gold Coast.
Despite that I still thought the Cats would push for top four, but they have surprised everyone. They won their first 14 games and only tasted defeat three times during the home and away season.
They won a number of close games early in the season, but they still won them. The margin doesn't matter, just the result.
Scott tweaked the game plan, placing more emphasis on defence - not that it was a major weakness, but the major change was reducing their number of possessions.
Under Mark Thompson, the Cats handled the ball much more than any other team and were in particular a high handpassing side, but Scott instructed them to kick more and the alterations to the game style have obviously worked.
His management of his players, particularly in the second half of the season when he rested all of them, was very clever and he had them all peaking at the right time.
They have so many good players, helped by excellent recruiting by Stephen Wells over the years, but no one really stood out.
They had three All Australians - Matthew Scarlett, Corey Enright and James Kelly - compared to Collingwood's six and also had so many contribute regularly on the scoreboard.
They have nine players kick more than 20 goals and 12 score more than 15 and had no one in contention to win the Brownlow.
Every single player during the grand final made a contribution including James Podsiadily, who suffered a bad shoulder injury in the second quarter and had to be subbed out for Mitch Duncan, who kicked an important goal in the third term.
Podsiadily was well beaten by Chris Tarrant, but kept competing and helped set up a Joel Selwood major late in the opening stanza.
Tall defender Tom Lonergan was a prime example of playing his role to perfection.
He started on Chris Dawes and kept him in check and early in the second quarter, with Travis Cloke threatening to win the grand final for Collingwood on his own, having destroyed Harry Taylor by taking eight marks and kicking three goals, Lonergan was moved onto him and restricted him to just one more touch for the rest of the game.
This club has so much playing depth and must be in contention again next year.
Cameron Mooney and Darren Milburn, who didn't play on Saturday, will retire, while ruckman Brad Ottens and skipper Cameron Ling may join them.
But don't be surprised if they hang on for another season, because despite all their recent success, they haven't won back to back yet and what an achievement that would be.
And who's to say they couldn't do it?
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