mikeh wrote: Its seems as though father time has finally caught up with Geelong. There have been signs this year that they have been on the decline, but it is a testament to their aura that before tonight most people, myself included, assumed they would squeeze into the top 8 for the 9th season in succession, an incredible achievement in this day and age given the equalisation policy.
Tonight they were beaten by a younger hungrier Collingwood team and many of their stars such as Selwood, Bartel, Stevie J and Mackie suddenly looked tired and slow. Next year will be a transitional one for the Cats with a lot of tough decisions to make over summer, but I think we should pause to salute this outstanding team that played in 4 grand finals for 3 premierships in the last 8 years.
Most Geelong supporters would still rue the 2008 one that got away but they still deserve to be ranked with the other 2 great teams of the 2000's in Brisbane of 2001 - 04 and Hawthorn of the last few years.
The fantastic comeback by Menzel after 4 knee reconstructions is a positive they can hang on to going forward.
Fantastic era by Geelong, a bit like Saints in the era before, relied on their ageing vets and why not they like Geelongs were very good, but when father time catches them up, and they have played right through, there is the risk you drop away quickly like The Saints because you have not got enough games into the younger brigade an they also have not had to shoulder the responsibility with the older brigde still playing
