

45 Joel Hamling

The tall defender from WA started the year off well in the Cats VFL side until he hampered his ankle in round 7 against Casey, which retained him for several weeks. The 20-year-old, overall, played 11 VFL games with an average of 7 efficient disposals and 3.3 marks per game. Hamling also displayed some impressive craftsmanship in the forward line when he kicked a bag of six goals against Frankston in round 4.



Amos' review:



He's still a skinny key position player, and he had some frustrations with injuries during the middle part of the year. Played predominantly as a forward early in the VFL season, then came back and played as a defender. In terms of his progression, the time in the backline was good for him. He played quite well in the VFL Grand Final, in a game when quite a few of the boys around his age struggled to make an impact. He seemed to get a lot of confidence from playing in the backline, and if he can have a good pre-season, get bigger and stronger and fitter, he's a chance to play some AFL footy next year. We always knew he would take some time.



46 Mark Blicavs

This year the speedy steeplechaser immediately became a positive addition to the Cats senior list having only played four VFL games the year before. It didn’t take Geelong long to realise how valuable Blicavs’ leg speed and height was to the Cats overall structure. From his debut in round 1 against the Hawks Blicavs went on to play a 22 game season with the Cats senior list. The 22-year-old averaged 11 disposals, 3 tackles and 3 marks per game. In round 10 against the Suns Blicavs had a career best performance with 20 touches, five tackles, seven clearances and one goal.



Amos' review:

We could never have expected to get so much out of him. He'd played only a handful of VFL games last year and before that his last footy was in the under-14s. To play most weeks of the year, predominantly as a ruckman, was an exceptional effort. We were particularly pleased with the way he and Vardy rucked in Perth against West Coast's Dean Cox and Scott Lycett. He's a great talent, but he's also got a great willingness to learn and work hard. He's really embraced the footy club and being part of a team. The boys really enjoy playing with him. As exceptional as his year was, we expect him to be even better next season. He's got more of an AFL body now than he did 12 months ago, and he'll be better again after another pre-season.



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