West Coast coach John Worsfold doesn’t believe there’s a way to beat the AFL’s equalisation policy, but he says Geelong’s ability to extend their stay at the top of the tree is a perfect example of what good management can achieve.
The Cats have played finals football in eight on their past nine completed seasons, and will make it nine from 10 next month.
Since 2007, Geelong have featured in four grand finals for three premierships.
And after posting 15 wins from 19 games so far this season, the second-placed Cats are well positioned to add to their trophy cabinet next month.
Worsfold knows what it’s like to coach a team at the top after guiding West Coast to the 2005 grand final and the 2006 premiership.
But the Eagles’ empire quickly collapsed following the exits of Chris Judd and Ben Cousins at the end of 2007, forcing Worsfold to embark on a rebuild that resulted in a wooden spoon in 2010 and three straight years without finals action.
The AFL’s salary cap and draft policies have proven largely successful in helping struggling sides rebuild, and limiting the time stronger sides can stay near the top of the ladder.
Many pundits expected Geelong to tumble down the pecking order following the exit of coach Mark Thompson and star midfielder Gary Ablett at the end of 2010.
But the Cats’ excellent recruiting and good management of their senior players ensured their golden run continued, with the likes of Tom Hawkins, Allen Christensen, Josh Caddy and Mitch Duncan filling the voids left by a host of retired premiership stars.
“I don’t think you’ll ever beat the system, but you might stay above average,” Worsfold said ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Geelong at Patersons Stadium.
“It’s tough because the rules of the competition we play in are geared around supporting teams that have several poor seasons.
“Having good processes in place, good communication across the board, managing your salary cap, and getting the right balance between drafting in and trading players – all those sort of things come into it (when trying to extend a period of success).
“Geelong are a wonderful footy club, wonderful team. I expect they would have their sights firmly set on being a chance of winning this year’s premiership.”
The Cats need to beat West Coast, Sydney (home) and Brisbane (home) to guarantee a top-two berth.
West Coast started the season as second favourites for the flag, but will now need to rely on Essendon being stripped of premiership points just to make the finals.
As expected, Geelong made the trek west without injured forward Tom Hawkins (back), while West Coast welcomed back star midfielder Luke Shuey but lost forward Mark LeCras to fractured ribs.
