IT ONLY SEEMS like last week we were watching the likes of Travis Varcoe and Nathan Djerrkurra turn it on in the NAB Cup pre-season matches, and now here we are just over half-way through the season. And, the Cats are on top! After twelve games Geelong is now a game and plenty of percentage ahead of second placed Hawthorn. The talk across the football world is this: Is this the year of the Cat? As in, the first Premiership since 1963.

This is a special edition as it's now just about five years since The Cattery's inception. The circumstances are similar, although the current squad has performed much better. Back in the middle of 2002 the team strung together a large string of wins (seven), but ultimately fell away and missed the finals.

The season started shakily. First up was a loss to the Western Bulldogs. That was followed by two thumping wins against some of the weaker teams in Carlton and Melbourne, games that unveiled Tom Hawkins and Travis Varcoe to (the rest of) the AFL world. One AFL coach even suggested Hawkins was the new 'Plugger'.

Next up were a pair of losses, the latter of which (to the Kangaroos at Skilled) was particularly disappointing and renewed cat calls for change from the top of the club down. To the club's credit, changes were made in the demoting of former Captain Steven King to the VFL, when Brad Ottens returned the next round. As history shows, the next round (six) saw a record 'destroyation' of Richmond one Sunday evening at Telstra Dome and the Cats haven't lost a game since.

The fans rightfully weren't happy after the loss to the 'Roos. Minutes after the final siren as disappointed punters filed out of the Hickey Stand, President Frank Costa and CEO Brian Cook made the slow shuffle down the ramps, and along with most Geelong fans felt down about the day. After copping a spray on the field the players, led publicly by Paul Chapman but by up to a dozen others behind the scenes, laid it all on the line; just five matches in they could either believe they've 'stuffed' the season already, or get on with it and bury the Tigers the next week. We all know what happened next.

Now just over the halfway mark and at the 'split round' stage, only games against top ten sides Sydney, Essendon and Collingwood remain until the Cats have tested themselves against all sides. Coach Mark 'Bomber' Thompson looks set to earn a contract extension, a remarkable situation. For those with short memories, at the end of last season Thompson hung on by the skin of his neck, and following the back to back losses to Hawthorn in Tasmania (by 4 points) and the Kangaroos at Skilled (16 points) forums filled with calls for his head.

Even Frank Costa has decided to stick around, reversing his long-stated intention to retire at the end of the season. Costa first indicated he'd stay on the board, a situation that would have been untenable. Costa's re-election at the end of the year is all but a formality, now that his wife has given her approval.

As eluded to in the first newsletter of the season, after several years of compound Membership growth, this year the tally's hit the staggers. The target this season was 32,291, but the club will now just be glad to limp over the line to 30,000. We understand you have until June 30 to secure a finals ticket allocation, so if you want to see the finals or just help the club, visit this link: http://gfc.com.au/Membership/tabid/4027/Default.aspx

The new AFL broadcast rights scheme has been a boon for Foxtel but a real downer for the GFC and their sponsors. Geelong games have been exclusively on Fox Sports 1 for the past seven matches, other than some limited coverage in states such as Adelaide and Perth when playing the Adelaide of WA based sides. This has to have had an impact on current and certainly future sponsorship deals as fewer sets of consumer eyes will see Geelong's advertising and branding. However having performed so strongly and certainties to finish towards the pointy end of the AFL ladder, the Cats should feature in more free to air games in 2008, including more Friday night matches.

Check out the fixtures we've put together, complete with a TV guide for each state:

Link: GFC 2007 Draw with TV details

Link: GFC 2007 Draw with TV details (Interstate Version)

The volume of reporting on The Cattery this season and arguably the quality has been down a bit due to the unavailability of journalist Mark Heenan, who's moved on to bigger and better things this year. But coming on board in the past fortnight is Justin Kremmer. You may have seen Justin's work on the Footyheads website, the online venture Craig 'Hutchy' Hutchison's Croc Media created last season. Watch this space.

It's been a very memorable five years since The Cattery's inception; while there's been plenty of disappointment I have been thoroughly entertained by the Cats - without this team I don't know how interesting footy would be. Looks like we'll need to start saving for September now, and hopefully not to spend on airline tickets to interstate finals.

I hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter. And remember, as Lance from Lara says: CARRRRN THE MIGHTTYYY CAAAATS! (CLICK HERE TO HEAR LANCE)

BEN JENSEN

Proprietor - The Cattery

SEASON SO FAR - MATCH REPORTS

ROUND 1 1 APRIL 2007 CATS NOT UP TO SCRATCH AGAINST BULLDOGS

ROUND 2 8 APRIL 2007 CATS DISPATCH BLUES; HAWKINS, VARCOE DEBUT IN STYLE DVD

ROUND 3 15 APRIL 2007 CATS THRASH DEMONS, JUMP TO SECOND SPOT ON LADDER; TOM HAWKINS SHOW CONTINUES DVD

ROUND 4 22 APRIL 2007 HAWKS IN A CANTER; CATS THROW AWAY CHANCE TO WIN WITH POOR THIRD QUARTER

ROUND 5 29 APRIL 2007 CATS CRASH OUT TO KANGAROOS

ROUND 6 6 MAY 2007 CATS DESTROY TIGERS, RECORD HIGHEST SCORE OF THE CENTURY DVD

ROUND 7 13 MAY 2007 CATS SLAY EAGLES; BREAK HOODOO DVD

ROUND 8 19 MAY 2007 CATS SUPREME IN ROUTINE WIN OVER DOCKERS _DVD

ROUND 9 27 MAY 2007 GEELONG MAKE THEMSELVES AT HOME, LEAPFROG PORT ADELAIDE TO SECOND SPOT DVD

ROUND 10 3 JUNE 2007 CATS SPANK SAINTS BY TEN GOALS DVD

ROUND 11 11 JUNE 2007 CATS BY A WHISKER, EARN HARD FOUGHT WIN IN ADELAIDE DVD

ROUND 12 17 JUNE 2007 CATS PROVE NO. 1 IN AFL WITH WIN CRUSHING OVER BRISBANE DVD

THE NEW BOYS

While Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins have drawn most of the plaudits, each winning a Rising Star nomination, it has been Travis Varcoe whose played the most games thus far, ten in all, after making his debut in round two against Carlton, kicking two goals with his first two kicks. Varcoe, who is now going out with a local netballer, has thirteen goals from his ten matches, averages more than three tackles a game, and has had countless 'one percenters'; the shepherds, tap ons and general harassment of opposition backmen that usually results in a goal two or three times a game.

Tom Hawkins, son of 'Jumping Jack', moved to Geelong from Finley, via Melbourne Grammar, at the end of last year. His first two games were certainly the highlights, kicking three and four goals. After a lean spell he kicked another four against Richmond, but struggled to get his hands on the ball against West Coast in round seven. Since then he's had a spell in the VFL but has been considered for AFL selection since, along with at least half a dozen players unlucky to miss out.

The man who sells wood, Joel 'Calico' Selwood though is certainly the pick of the bunch, and if it wasn't for the well intentions of the Geelong match committee in giving him the odd week off due to allow his young body to rest, he would have been selected every match. Selwood was near best on ground in the last game, the win over Brisbane at home, shaded only by Brownlow favourite Gary Ablett on the day.

Although the AFL industry is notorious for hard and fast judgments, the consensus, and it's one The Cattery certainly subscribes to, is that Selwood not only possesses great skill and stamina but is level headed and looks set to play two hundred games and probably captain his club some day.

Hats off to the Geelong recruiters for their work the past few seasons; this year has been no exception.

IMPROVERS

We actually can't name a 'most improved'. There's just been so many players to dramatically improve their place within the team, in so many different ways, it's impossible. You have the star player who becomes an AFL superstar (a couple of them). The potentially also-ran who stepped up into one of the first picked. Then you have the much maligned recruit who, after finally receiving a better defined role, trained the house down in the pre-season and formed an unstoppable duo with another young buck still finding his (gangly) feet.

You wouldn't have thought these two would have had much scope for improvement, but the two Geelong Falcons boys Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel have both stepped up a couple notches to be included in the upper echelon of the AFL's top midfielders. Neither were genuine chances for All Australian in their careers thus far and while they were certainly fixtures in the Geelong side, were not considered 'stars' by those outside the club. To an extent Bartel still won't, but he has rightfully been recognised as one of the best at the present time, up the top of media player of the season awards and Brownlow betting.

While Bartel's been in the spotlight all season, Ablett wasn't really on the radar until the crushing win over Richmond. He's kicked fifteen goals this season and averages twenty-five touches a game. But it's what he does with the ball that really counts. The boy is special, and looks set to continue this form into the pointy end of the season. He's developed into a real midfield general, too, something that wasn't apparent in his first five seasons.

David Wojcinski, who underwent a knee reconstruction in 2005, has been a delight to watch this year. Along with Kane Tenace and a few other sidekicks, Wojcinski has demonstrated the old fashioned art of the speedy wingman. Wojcinski has kicked ten goals so far this season, most of them spectacular exhibitions of run and carry, 'catch me if you can' football. Wojcinski seems to strut around the field with impunity, knowing where his opponents are and that they can't catch him.

Matthew Stokes, given a chance early in the season but dropped after the round 5 loss to the Kangaroos, was recalled the following week after Paul Chapman pulled a hamstring in the season-making thrashing of Richmond. Since then he hasn't looked back, and has spent more time on the ball that ever before.

Matthew Egan was doing a great job down back the past three seasons but this is the first year he's been spoken about by the mainstream media as a genuine All Australian contender. Egan, 24 in July, who only took up football in his late teens, is described as a 'freak' by former Oak Park teammate Mathew McKerrow.

Cameron Mooney, who we thought should have been traded for the minimum wage after last season's performance (four suspensions and no finals), has really improved. Mooney has played at centre half forward all season, finally cut loose from being spare parts man in defence, ruck and up forward where he's best suited and most needed. Mooney has had a huge impact on Nathan Ablett and is leading the club goalkicking with twenty-eight goals from all twelve games. Crucially to the outcome of some matches, including the narrow win over Adelaide in round eleven, Mooney has kicked just fourteen behinds.

Nathan Ablett, started very well like Mooney but has not has as much of a direct impact on the scoreboard since due to increased attention from opposition key defenders. However his contests remain strong, ensuring the ball isn't simply rebounded and instead falls to the feet of crumbers like Varcoe, Ablett, Chapman and the like.

Mark Blake, the Gazelle, another father-son and Geelong Falcons recruit, wasn't rated by that many Geelong fans, let alone those outside the club. His exploits this season have thrilled the crowd, although the ever elusive first goal remains to come. He's played second fiddle to Ottens most weeks but only just. His role as a pivot-man in the centre of the ground has been match-winning, and a couple times a game he finds himself unmanned at centre-half back and takes a bounce and a dash down the middle.

Brad Ottens is having his best season in the navy blue hoops since crossing from Richmond in 2005. No longer expected to play a Paul Salmon full forward type role, his fitness is now perfect for the ruck. Ottens has played a big hand in Blake's step up the form ladder and has been handy up forward, too. Unfortunately for former skipper Steven King that possibly spells the end of his AFL career, but you never know when injury can strike, as he well should know.

Steve Johnson rightfully received a boot up the proverbial after yet another drunken escapade, this time around Christmas time up at Wangaratta. Suspended by the 'leadership group', ineligible for AFL consideration until round 6, Johnson appears to have literally worked his backside off in what is his last chance for a meaningful career at Geelong. In seven games, Johnson has kicked sixteen goals, after two on his season debut against Richmond.

We've pretty much ran out of room but have to mention:

• Andrew Mackie - yet another damaging backman, who would've thought the little man could hold down a defensive role
• Corey Enright - disposal a lot better
• James Kelly - was seriously on the chopping block, now he holds the axe
• ...Mark Thompson! Great year from Bomber.

NEXT HALF

To shore up a spot in the top two and a home final first up, Geelong need to win seven of the remaining ten games. Crucially, five of these ten games are at Skilled Stadium while another two are 'home' games in Melbourne, albeit against Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs. Two more road trips remain - lowly Fremantle in WA and the Lions at the Gabba.

The next three matches present big tests and opportunities. First up is the wounded Sydney Swans. The 'band of brothers' are playing more like a bunch of also-rans right now and should show something this Saturday, but the Cats should have their measure.

Next up is evergreen Essendon, an away fixture at the Telstra Dome, on what will certainly be one cold Friday night (we nearly froze last season, and we had gloves, beanies and scarves - our Essendon mate had a 'bomber' jacket, a pot of beer and an extra 10-15 kilos). Kevin Sheedy, who has escaped the sack for more than twenty-five years now, is a master at turning his own team into the underdogs so be sure to see the Cats trumped right up for this game, as they should be. But the Bombers are playing well, although they did lose to Carlton so they're certainly not consistent.

The final match to round out games against all other fifteen clubs is Collingwood, in a 'home' fixture at the MCG. (The Metrocats have a great deal - for $25 you get a lunch, get to listen to the likes of Jumping Jack Hawkins, Jason Snell and Ron Watt, get a lunch AND a seat right in front of the Ryder room - www.metrocats.com.au). The Pies will by then have regained spearhead Anthony Rocca, suspended this week.

ROUND 13 – Sydney, Skilled Stadium (Home)
ROUND 14 – Essendon, Telstra Dome (Away)
ROUND 15 – Collingwood, MCG (Home)
ROUND 16 – Western Bulldogs, Telstra Dome (Home)
ROUND 17 – Fremantle, Subiaco (Away)
ROUND 18 – Richmond, Skilled Stadium (Home)
ROUND 19 – Adelaide, Skilled Stadium (Home)
ROUND 20 – Kangaroos, Telstra Dome (Away)
ROUND 21 – Port Adelaide, Skilled Stadium (Home)
ROUND 22 – Brisbane Lions, Gabba (Away)

GFC 2007 DRAW WITH TV DETAILS

INTERSTATE TV GUIDE - FIND OUT IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY WATCH GAMES THE REST OF US GET ON FREE TO AIR

INJURY

GEELONG has had a fantastic run with injuries. One of the major injuries, that to Steven King actually removed one of the minor selection headaches and allowed the game's now premier ruck duo of Ottens and Blake to carry on unfettered.

The most significant injuries during the season, to 'first team' players, have been to Paul Chapman and Max Rooke, while David Johnson has also been unlucky.

Tom Lonergan, who memorably lost a kidney towards the end of last season, made an emotional comeback to football in the VFL before the AFL round 12 match against Brisbane.

Joel Reynolds, on the Rookie list after being delisted by Essendon last season, sadly looks to be lost to AFL football after requiring a knee reconstruction before his season really begun. Ineligible for the Rookie list next season, Reynolds will need to be drafted outright to resume his career.

Link: INJURY LIST

NAME A GAME - ENJOY ANY MATCH ON DVD FOR $34.95 (Wins listed only!)

Visit This Link for any other match of the past few seasons

ROUND 12 - GEELONG V BRISBANE DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 11 - ADELAIDE V GEELONG DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 10 - ST KILDA V GEELONG DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 9 - PORT ADELAIDE V GEELONG DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 8 - GEELONG V FREMANTLE DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 7 - GEELONG V WEST COAST DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 6 - RICHMOND V GEELONG - DVD $34.95 PLUS P&H (Mauling of Richmond)

ROUND 3 - MELBOURNE V GEELONG DVD A$34.95 + P&H

ROUND 2 - GEELONG V CARLTON DVD A$34.95 + P&H (Hawkins, Varcoe debut)

Do you run a small business, or wish you did? If the answer is yes and you're in the Geelong or Melbourne region, you should call Steve Jeffreys of First Class Accounts.

As a First Class Accounts consultant, Steve is keen to see your business succeed. Steve comes to First Class Accounts with 12 years of business experience in the retail and hospitality industries gaining a strong finance grounding. And he's a footballer with a local club!

Steve understands the pressure that small business owners are under to sell their products and services, and still keep up to date with record keeping and government requirements.

With experience in both MYOB and QuickBooks, Steve will be able to explain your accounts to you in everyday language and help you interpret your results so you can make decisions to build a successful business. He is also proficient in Payroll having implemented and maintained systems for over 100 employees using Micropay. Additionally Steve is able to look after your BAS statements and GST and PAYG obligations.

Whether you need casual or permanent bookkeeping services, or perhaps training for you or your staff, Steve will be able to look after you in a friendly and professional manner that’s First Class.

Freecall: 1800 082 066
Email: sjeffreys@firstclassaccounts.com
Web: http://firstclassaccounts.com

GARY ABLETT VIDEO

LIKE MOST GEELONG FANS my favourite player of all time has to be Gary Ablett Senior. For a while now a 'video' has been floating around the Internet featuring highlights of Ablett's career up until 1993. Some 1.3GB in filesize and just under an hour long, the video starts with Ablett's six game, nine goal career with Hawthorn in 1982. You can also watch much smaller snippets of the video via the now ubiquitous Youtube.

Click the link below for several ways to view the video.

http://geelong.keldar.net/Articles/17032007_1.php

Free Plugs:

http://www.zaidee.org - Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation, created in honour of Zaidee Turner who tragically died at the age of just 7 in 2004 from an aneurysm, aims to make organ and tissue donation and awareness more prevalent in the community.

To unsubscribe, please send an email with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject to thecattery@keldar.net