In an article titled, “Ghosts of failures past haunt Cats” that appeared in yesterday’s Age newspaper, Greg Baum looked at Geelong’s prospects at the business end of the season. 

“Geelong sits four games clear on top of the ladder and is already the minor premier. It has won 14 games in a row, the second-longest winning streak in the club’s history and one of the 12 longest by any club. The previous three clubs to compile similar sequences — Carlton 1995, Essendon 2000 and the Brisbane Lions 2002 — all won premierships, emphatically.”

The story looks good. But Baum then points out Geelong’s well known flip side:

“Geelong has not won the flag since 1963. Among clubs of the former VFL, only Footscray is more starved. In the interim, the Cats have lost five grand finals, also losing six preliminary finals.”

In conclusion, Baum thinks “a defeat now for the Cats would be a hitch, not a crisis. But Geelong knows that its biggest threat at the moment is Geelong. So do punters.”

The Swans Blog decided to get to the bottom of this story and contacted Bomber Thompson for his own thoughts. According to Bomber, Cats’ supporters should not worry. He spoke reassuringly and enthusiastically about the Cats, and described their recent form as “priceless”.

Meanwhile, for those Vietnam Swans in Hanoi, training will be on tonight as usual at Dead Cat Stadium, commencing at 7.15pm. Only 2 1/2 weeks before the Hong Kong Dragons get here.