GEELONG captain Joel Selwood has been surprised by what star recruit Mitch Clark has produced in his short time at the club.
Clark was traded to the Cats at the end of last season after making the decision to return to football, having announced his retirement – after being diagnosed with depression – while still on Melbourne's list in April 2014.
The key forward – who seems to have shaken the injury issues that dogged him during much of his three seasons at the Demons – showed through the NAB Challenge that his recruitment could pay off in a big way, with the big Cat booting 11 goals in three matches.
With Clark joining spearhead Tom Hawkins up forward this season, the Cats have a one-two punch the envy of any team in the competition.
"It has been a little bit surprising because he's come in and made a big impact and he's really enjoying the place," Selwood told AFL.com.au at captains' day on Wednesday.
"But on the other hand it's not so surprising. He's a quality guy and works really hard on the training track. He's just a really loveable person to be around too.
"It's good to see him get some reward for effort. We've seen him play some great games so far, but he's going to play some better games."
The other positive to emerge out of the NAB Challenge for the Cats, has been the exhilarating highlights created by first-round draft pick Nakia Cockatoo.
The Cats selected Cockatoo with pick No.10 in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft after he missed almost the entire 2014 season due to a stress fracture in his foot.
An amazing performance in last year's Grand Final curtain raiser reminded everyone of his class and he has already shown he has the ability to translate those skills to the top level.
Cockatoo's 150m run, where he sliced through Carlton's defence to set up Mitch Clark for a goal on Sunday, even left Cats coach Chris Scott in awe.
"If I was a Geelong supporter who wasn't a member I'd be buying a membership so I could come and watch Nakia Cockatoo play," he said.
"He's just so exciting. We've got enough confidence in him already to play him right in the middle of the action. He doesn't need to be eased into his AFL career, he's going to add to our midfield group from day one."
Understandably, Selwood agrees with his coach, with Cockatoo firmly in line for a round one debut against Hawthorn on Easter Monday.
"He's (Cockatoo) very exciting. You saw with his run on the weekend that he's going to give a lot of enjoyment to fans over the length of his career," Selwood said.
"He's outstanding in what he can bring to this footy club. We haven't had it for a long time, the guy that can come in and play straight away.
"It's hard to hide the excitement but I want Nakia to be him and I want him to play on natural ability and he's been able to do that over the pre-season period."
