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Buckley: Why Geelong's future planning has them primed to attack September
Jaiden Sciberras • August 25th, 2025 6:15 pm
The Cats are brilliantly placed heading into September.
A healthy list, with stars in form and a double chance locked in, Geelong are primed and ready to run deep into the 2025 finals series, and according to Nathan Buckley, much of their success can be credited to their excellent forward planning.
Entering the season, the Cats had a number of talented youngsters with little experience ready to fight for a place in the senior side. From Connor O’Sullivan – who had played just one game in his career, to Shannon Neale – slowly forging a role across a span of three seasons, Geelong were stacked with prospects that needed exposure at the highest level.
Now, entering September, each player eyeing off a place in the 23 has featured in a comfortable amount of senior games, understanding their role and operating as a vital cog for the Cats’ home and away success.
“I look at the players they’ve added, and as a counterpoint to the Dogs trying to find something in the last couple of weeks, the Cats’ planning has got them with their new players, their young players, now with 20 or 30 games,” Buckley told SEN’s Whateley.
“There are some players that have come in since the ’22 flag that have now got a really good block of time in the system, in the team, and they’re exposed really well.
“(Oliver) Dempsey’s played 55 games, O’Sullivan’s played nearly every game this year. (Lawson) Humphries 33, (Shaun) Mannagh 32, (Oisin) Mullin 40, (Mitch) Knevitt, who was used as the sub and you’re keeping him on the boiler, has played 21. There’s no player that’s coming that’s only played three or four games this year that comes in.
“I don’t think that Cam Guthrie will get that opportunity, as much as he’s been a stalwart of this club for a long time – he’s just too injury prone at this stage. Mitch Duncan is available there, but they’ve chosen better, or different at this stage.”
Looking back on their 2022 Grand Final triumph, Buckley listed the nine changes made to Geelong’s first choice 23 over the following three seasons, marking the similarities in the specific player replacements from the list today.
“There are nine differences from their premiership team in ’22 at the moment,” Buckley continued.
“(Tom) Hawkins has gone out, Shannon Neale comes in. Mitch Duncan, who has not been favoured at the moment, and you’ve got a user off the back in Humphries. Cam Guthrie, who was pretty much jack of all trades, who plugs holes everywhere – Jack Bowes is now doing that.
“(Jake) Kolodjashnij goes out, O’Sullivan comes in – intercept marker, big body who can get things done. (Brandan) Parfitt for Mannagh – Mannagh I reckon is one of the (better) players in the competition and is set for a big September.
“Gary Rohan goes out as your strike forward, and Jack Martin comes in who can play multiple roles as well. (Joel) Selwood out, who is an inside beast and a leader, and you’ve brought in an Ollie Dempsey who represents the modern game in high transition, can get back and covers the line so well.
“You swap Smiths – Isaac for Bailey, and you’ve swapped Irishmen in (Zach) Tuohy for Mullin. There’s nearly a plug and play element to what Geelong have been able to do.
“They’ve adjusted to where the game has gone in the last three years, they’ve priorities transition over contest and clearance, but there’s an argument to say that even with those lightly run players, that the balance in the side is intact and they are in as good a nick as any.”
Assessing what is to come for the Cats, Buckley believes they have every chance of finding themselves at the MCG on the final Saturday of September.
“I’m fascinated by what they bring to the table in the next month,” he said.
“I think they are a side that can hold up – we forget last year in the Preliminary Final that they were up at the 24-minute mark of the last quarter, and they were four goals up half-way through the second quarter. (Max) Holmes sat on the pine for a long period; they played with 21 for a period.
“This is going to be a fascinating Qualifying Final.”
