Dangerfield rallies Cats to regroup after heartbreak

[Pelican Press 0]

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Dangerfield rallies Cats to regroup after heartbreak

A rallying call from skipper Patrick Dangerfield after Geelong’s heartbreaking AFL preliminary final exit has the Cats believing they can quickly regroup and challenge again for the flag.

The Cats slipped to a 10-point defeat to Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday evening.

Shortly after the game, Dangerfield brought his teammates together in a huddle, before they were addressed by coach Chris Scott in the rooms.

“Pat’s good as with that. It was similar to Scotty’s messaging – just stay positive, stick together,” veteran Mark Blicavs said.

“It’s a tough time, but we’re in a privileged position to put ourselves in this spot to have a ****** at making a grand final.

“These really hurt, but we’re here and it’s a privilege to constantly keep trying to ****** for your spot. So just stick together.

“Paddy’s awesome, he leads really well, just his getting the group together to compose ourselves, stay positive

“He’s talking like he’s really motivated, and he’s 34. So it’s good if our skipper’s got the juice and motivated to go again and to improve and work hard and to put us there again.”

Asked how the Cats would get over their defeat, Blicavs said: “Probably just being together.

“With your teammates and coaches you get to chat about a few what-ifs, a few things we felt out there. Over the next week or two it’s like constantly debriefing.

“Time as well, I suppose. It sucks, but time.

“We just stay positive, stay together and be realistic.

“The competition’s tight, and it’s ******* hard to get to finals, let alone a prelim, let alone a grand final. You saw it this year, there’s 11 or 12 teams that could be in this position.

“So you’ve just gotta freshen up in the off-season, physically and mentally, recharge, and then you go again.”

Blicavs paid tribute to retiring pair Tom Hawkins and Zach Tuohy.

“They’re amazing. Gonna miss them both, they’ve been integral parts of my journey especially,” he said.

“It’s gonna be sad … it’ll hit more when we hit pre-season next year when they’re not around as much.”

Blicavs wouldn’t be drawn on whether the Cats needed to ******* the trade table, instead hailing the development of Ollie Henry, Ollie Dempsey and Zach Guthrie.

Talented tall Sam De Koning missed part of the back end of the season through a knee injury, then couldn’t break back into the team.

But Blicavs had no concerns he would look to go elsewhere.

“It’s just unlucky timing with his injury,” he said.

“But no, he’s been remaining really positive, he’s been around the group. He’s awesome, so he’ll slot right back in.”

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