Draw assessment
The Cats start their season with a tough assignment against Fremantle in Perth, and they also have trips to Brisbane and Sydney in the first seven rounds. In all, they head interstate six times. They go to Perth again, to play West Coast at Patersons Stadium, in round 17. Geelong plays flag favourites Collingwood and Hawthorn twice.

Pivotal match
The Easter Monday clash between the Cats and Hawthorn shape as a genuine barometer match for the reigning premiers. Geelong has beaten the Hawks seven times on the trot - by an average margin of just over 10 points - and another win over Alastair Clarkson's men will have the Cats sitting pretty.

Injury list
A number of star players are currently battling to regain full fitness. Nathan Vardy (hip) and Daniel Menzel (knee reconstruction) are unlikely to play until halfway through the season, while Travis Varcoe and David Wojcinski are both hoping to overcome their foot injuries by round five or six.

Track specialist
All the talk down at the Cattery this pre-season has been about Billie Smedts, the club's first selection in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft. Smedts was sidelined by hip problems last year, but he looked impressive in the NAB Cup. He picked up 14 possessions in his best effort, against Richmond, in round three.

Dream Team special
Taylor Hunt is listed as a $270,100 defender, but the 21-year-old has been earmarked for a midfield role this season. Hunt picked up 22 possessions, five marks and 90 Dream Team points against Gold Coast in round two of the NAB Cup.

Draftee watch
Geelong's surprise pick in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, 29-year-old ruckman Orren Stephenson, has done enough during the pre-season to be a certain starter against Freo in round one. Going in Stephenson's favour is the fact that the Cats have only one other fit ruckman - 2011 premiership player Trent West.

Needs a big year
Speedy half-forward Shannon Byrnes, a premiership player in 2007 and '09, is a much-loved figure down at Simonds Stadium. But after injuries ruined his 2011 season, he needs to prove to the club that he can still cut it at the highest level.

Best and fairest tip
Even after the recent retirements of Cameron Ling, Brad Ottens, Darren Milburn and Cameron Mooney, there are still plenty of gun players down at Geelong. Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright and Joel Selwood are always among the leading vote-getters in the best and fairest, and things are unlikely to change on that front. Ultra-consistent, and with the added motivation of now being the captain, Selwood shapes as the best bet.

The Cats will have a good year if…
Their young running players such as Taylor Hunt and Cameron Guthrie can fill the massive shoes left behind by retired premiership captain Cameron Ling. The big redhead was brilliant at shutting down the opposition's best midfielders - the likes of Collingwood's Dane Swan and Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell - and uncovering another never-say-die run-with player is vitally important to Geelong's flag chances.

The big issues
Have the Cats lost too much talent to remain at the top? Ling and Ottens are especially big losses. Both were big-game players and star performers in last year's Grand Final.

Can Tom Hawkins repeat his Grand Final day heroics on a consistent basis? With most clubs talking up a move towards more long kicking, Hawkins shapes as an even more vital player than before. If he can provide an imposing presence in the goal square, clunking marks like he did against the Magpies last October, the Cats will have a forward line that will be very hard to stop.

Will the players lose motivation after so much success? Three flags in five years is a massive effort, and you have to wonder whether the older blokes on the list have the drive and desire to push for another one.

Best 22
B: Corey Enright, Matthew Scarlett, Josh Hunt
HB: Tom Lonergan, Harry Taylor, James Kelly
C: Andrew Mackie, Joel Corey, Mitch Duncan
HF: Travis Varcoe, Tom Hawkins, Paul Chapman
F: Mathew Stokes, James Podsiadly, Steve Johnson
FOLL: Trent West, Joel Selwood (c), Jimmy Bartel
I/C: Nathan Vardy, David Wojcinski, Taylor Hunt
SUB: Allen Christensen

AFL.com.au predicted ladder finish: 3rd

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