2011 snapshot
Ladder position: 1st
Leading goalkicker: James Podsiadly (52)
Leading possession winner: James Kelly (577)
Played every game: Nil
Debutants: Allen Christensen (19 games), Nathan Vardy (9), Josh Cowan (3), Cameron Guthrie (2), Mitch Brown (2)

Stats leaders
Toyota AFL Dream Team: Steve Johnson (2143)
Kicks: Corey Enright (330)
Handballs: Joel Corey (262)
Marks: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor (144)
Hit-outs: Brad Ottens (500)
Clearances: Joel Selwood (109)
Contested possessions: Joel Selwood (253)
Uncontested possessions: Corey Enright (350)

NAB AFL Rising Star nominees
Mitch Duncan (Round 3)
Daniel Menzel (Round 13)
Allen Christensen (Round 18)

List manager
The biggest issue for the Cats is managing the careers of the older players on their list. Cameron Mooney and Cameron Ling have already announced their retirements, while Darren Milburn is expected to do the same. Fellow veteran Brad Ottens is also weighing up whether his aching body can get through another season. The club already has good replacements for all these players, so it is expected to be quiet in the trade period and concentrate on the NAB AFL Draft instead.

Games that shaped a season
Rd 1: Geelong 6.12 (48) d St Kilda 6.11 (47)
It might all have been so different if the Cats had lost to St Kilda in the first Friday night game of the season. Late in the third quarter, the Chris Scott era looked set to begin in disappointing circumstances when Geelong had only one goal to its name, but the Cats clawed their way back into what was a very ugly contest. In the dying seconds, their oldest player, 34-year-old Darren Milburn, received the ball from Cameron Mooney and booted the winning goal. It was the first of their 13 straight wins to start the season. (In all, they won five of those games by less than two goals.)

Rd 19: Geelong 37.11 (233) d Melbourne 7.5 (47)
The Cats ended Dean Bailey's coaching career at Melbourne when they demolished the Demons by 186 points. Steve Johnson produced an extraordinary performance that day. Not only did he boot seven goals, he also registered 11 score assists, nine of which led to goals, meaning he had a direct hand in 16 of Geelong's 37 majors. His final stat-count was 34 possessions, five clearances and six inside-50s. Seven days later, in round 20, Geelong thumped Gold Coast (Ablett was injured and didn't play) by 150 points at the same venue.

Rd 24: Geelong 22.17 (149) d Collingwood 8.5 (53)
It was said to be a 'dead rubber' as the teams could not change their positions on the ladder. But the Cats used the hit-out to thrash their main challenger, in the process establishing a psychological edge over the Magpies.

Qualifying final: Geelong 14.14 (98) d Hawthorn 9.13 (67)
The two qualifying final winners usually play off in the Grand Final, so everything was on the line on the opening weekend of the finals when the Cats took on the Hawks. A stunning four-goal burst in less than five minutes late in the third quarter did the trick for Chris Scott's men. The downside was the serious knee injury suffered by emerging star Daniel Menzel.

Grand Final: Geelong 18.11 (119) d Collingwood 12.9 (81)
The Cats made it three flags in five seasons when they raced away from the Magpies in the final quarter and won by 38 points. Jimmy Bartel edged out Joel Selwood for the Norm Smith Medal. It meant Geelong had beaten Collingwood in all three of their meetings in 2011.

What went right
Just about everything. Midfielders like James Kelly and Selwood stepped up to cover the absence of Gary Ablett, who defected to Gold Coast at the end of 2010, while Chris Scott proved to be a perfect replacement for two-time premiership coach Mark Thompson. Perhaps Scott's greatest achievement was that he managed to transition much-admired veterans Mooney and Milburn out of the team without upsetting the morale of the other players. The youngsters who came in - Allen Christensen, Mitch Duncan and Menzel among them - all made fine contributions to what was a brilliant season for the Cats.

What went wrong
Not much at all. Daniel Menzel's knee injury in the qualifying final win over Hawthorn was one of few hiccups the Cats suffered during their campaign. Having undergone a knee reconstruction, Menzel will return to the field in the latter half of the 2012 season.

Critical moment
Travis Varcoe's running goal, 12 seconds into the Grand Final against Collingwood, showed the Cats were up and about. It set them on course for another flag - one that had seemed so unlikely at the start of the year.

Most valuable player
James Kelly stepped up in the absence of Gary Ablett and became an ultra-consistent player in the middle of the ground. Although he didn't win the best and fairest (that award went to defender Corey Enright), Kelly is now one of the most important players in Geelong's engine room. Along with picking up plenty of possessions, he also laid many vital tackles. Selwood, Bartel and Matthew Scarlett are others who could easily claim the MVP title.

Coach's pet
Mercurial forward Steve Johnson was already regarded as the coach's favourite, and his performance in the Grand Final did nothing to change that. Having seemed unlikely to play after suffering a wrenched knee in the preliminary final against West Coast, Johnson not only took his place in the team, but he made a great contribution by kicking four goals.

Next big thing
There are a few of them. Christensen, Duncan, Menzel and Taylor Hunt all have claims to the title. But it is probably Christensen who has got his nose in front at the moment. His lightning pace and tremendous skill mean he is likely to be dominating matches for the Cats for many years to come.

Needs a big pre-season
Geelong's first pick in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, Warrnambool boy Billie Smedts, didn't play at all in 2011 due to hip problems. But he started his pre-season in September, and the Cats are hopeful he can play a big role in their 2012 campaign.

Trading places
The Cats will be quiet during trade week, but they have already signalled their desire to offload 2009 premiership ruckman Mark Blake. If Blake cannot be traded, he will be delisted.

What they said
"Really at times we [coaches] just got out of the way this year, because we had such an incredible group of players. We can pat ourselves on the back and take credit for that as coaches, but it wouldn't be appropriate, because these players, they've been amazingly well coached for a long period of time. It's about time they started taking a bit more of the credit themselves."
- Geelong coach Chris Scott

In a nutshell
Brilliant. Extraordinary. Remarkable. The Cats' 2011 campaign was all of these things. It has established the club as the greatest in the competition … for now.

Overall grade: A+

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs