GEELONG midfielder Josh Caddy is constantly envious listening to his premiership teammates reminisce about their past successes.
But instead of looking at their achievements and thinking they are out of reach, Caddy is hoping to create his own premiership history during his time at Kardinia Park.
"You hear stories that they tell and you just want to experience that yourself," Caddy told AFL.com.au.
"That's probably why the top clubs – Sydney, Hawthorn, Geelong over the last decade have had that sustained success because it carries through year by year.
"We want to get a taste for it and it becomes a bit of a tradition at the club. So hopefully we can keep that going."
Not everyone believes the Cats can challenge for the flag in 2015, but those opinions do not worry Caddy, or Geelong.
"We don't really care what people externally say about us, but in a way it's probably good to have that underdog tag," Caddy said.
"We embrace that and internally everyone's still as hungry as ever."
The 22-year-old's role through the midfield will be pivotal for Geelong this season.
The Cats know what they're going to get from superstars Joel Selwood and Steve Johnson, but if Caddy and fellow young midfielders Mitch Duncan, Steven Motlop, Cameron Guthrie and George Horlin-Smith can step up then the club will be in good shape.
If it is to be this season, Caddy knows Geelong will need to ease the midfield responsibility on Selwood.
Selwood won 153 clearances in 2014, nearly double the amount of Geelong's next best – Guthrie (78) and Johnson (71).
Caddy, who was restricted to 16 games in 2014, because of a broken foot suffered in a training mishap in April, finished the year with 42 clearances.
"Clearances as a whole was something that we were pretty poor in last year (the Cats were rated 14th overall)," Caddy said.
"It's not the be all and all, but it's hopefully an area we can fix.
"It's awesome having Joel, because he's an absolute gun and a champion of the game, but if we can take a bit of the pressure off him as a group then we're going to be better off for it."
Caddy's performances through last year's finals series, in particular in the semi-final loss to North Melbourne – in which he gathered a team-high 26 disposals – showed why the Cats were so keen to secure him from Gold Coast in the 2012 trade period.
The No.7 pick in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft believes he is starting to find his feet at AFL level and his confidence is high approaching his fifth year in the League.
"I proved to myself and, I suppose, everyone else that I do belong in the side, but it's about doing that week in week out and limiting those poor performances which as a young player you have plenty of," Caddy said.
"I'm more of an inside midfielder but if I can get a little bit more of the ball on the outside (of the contest) and add that run and carry, which I started to do in the finals last year, then hopefully I can have more impact on games."
