New-look Cats take on Ablett
AS GEELONG prepares to take on former club icon Gary Ablett for the first time this Saturday night, they do so as the undefeated ladder-leader.

Few, if any, would have tipped this at the start of the year. Ablett's defection to Gold Coast, coach Mark Thompson's abdication and the continuing ravages of Father Time were expected to take their toll on the oldest playing list in the competition.

So how have the Cats landed on their feet again this season?

Wednesday's Herald Sun ran some statistics that suggest the Cats have done so primarily on the back of a stronger defensive focus and a deeper midfield rotation.

However, under new coach Chris Scott, the Cats' scoring has dried up. The Herald Sun's statistics show the Cats have slipped from first in the competition for scoring last season to ninth in 2011, their average score dropping from 115 points a game to 94 points.

This drop-off is at least partly explained by the fact the Cats' scoring efficiency has dropped off markedly once they get the ball inside their forward 50. In 2010, they scored a goal 31.2 per cent of the time they went inside their forward 50. This year, that figure has dropped to 23.6 per cent.

This is due in part to Scott's decision to send his medium forwards into the middle more often to help cover Ablett's loss.

While Paul Chapman was already spending considerable time in the Cats' midfield last year, Steve Johnson, Travis Varcoe and Mathew Stokes are now joining him. The tabloid said Johnson had started at centre bounces 53 times already this season, up from 18 for all of last year. Similarly, Stokes has started in the middle 23 times this year compared to 12 last season, Varcoe 17 times compared to 10.    

However, the Cats' drop in scoring has been compensated by their improved defence, which is the stingiest in the competition this season, having conceded nine fewer points a game than last year when it was ranked third.

This transformation has happened quietly and seamlessly under Scott. Its effectiveness won't be on trial against Ablett and the Suns this round, but in September and, hopefully for Cats fans, the first week of October.

Then the question will be: Can the Cats pinch one more flag from the premiership core of 2007 and '09?

GWS has time on its side
Any Greater Western Sydney fans or sympathisers concerned about the lack of player-poaching rumours can rest easy, Age columnist Jake Niall says.

Niall concedes there hasn't been the same level of rumours about GWS player signings as there was this time last year with Gold Coast.

But Niall says this is largely because the Giants have more time to get the job done than the Suns did. Where the Suns had a year to sign up to 16 out-of-contract players from opposition clubs, the Giants have two years.

They are also helped by another concession the Suns didn't have - the ability to trade four 17-year-olds who aren't eligible for this year's or next year's NAB AFL Draft. Again this concession will last two years, so the Giants can trade ineligible 17-year-olds at the end of this year or the end of next year.

Niall said this concession had other clubs chasing the Giants in an attempt to get their hands on some of the 17-year-olds in the land. Already, Niall said clubs including Essendon, Collingwood, Richmond, Gold Coast, Fremantle and West Coast had expressed interest in West Australian midfielder Jaegar O'Meara.

To get their hands on such youngsters - which the Giants are obligated to trade under the concession - other clubs will have to come up with acceptable trades, presumably experienced players.

Niall says in this way, the Giants are not as dependent as Gold Coast was on milking their out-of-contract player concessions.

While the Giants are well placed to get the experienced players they need, Niall says opposition supporters need not worry. If their sides happen to lose stars to GWS, they are likely to be compensated with a star youngster rather than draft picks.

It's going to be an interesting two years.  

Tigers feeling the heat
Richmond launched the Fighting Tiger Fund earlier this year with the aim of raising $6 million to wipe out its debt and increase its football department spending.

With clubs like Collingwood and West Coast spending more and more on their football departments in search of an on-field edge, the message coming out of Punt Road seemed clear - 'We want to put ourselves in a financial position where we can compete with the big boys.'

Another example of the Tigers' commitment to explore all avenues to get a break on the rest of the competition is the heat chamber they are using to prepare for this Saturday night's game against Port Adelaide at Darwin's TIO Stadium.

The Herald Sun reported Tigers players began exercising in the chamber last week, undertaking supervised workouts on treadmills, exercise bikes and rowing machines to prepare themselves for Darwin's humidity and heat.

The heat chamber is part of the Tigers' new training and administration building, the $20 million ME Bank centre, which was opened earlier this year.
Given the Tigers have signed on to play regular home matches in Darwin and Cairns over the coming seasons, their investment in the heat chamber makes perfect sense.

No doubt, they'll hope in time their familiarity with the heat and humidity at their new 'homes' will give them an advantage.

In short
The Gold Coast Bulletin says Gold Coast sports fans will be the biggest losers from the NRL's decision to schedule a Gold Coast Titans' home match against North Queensland less than two hours before Gold Coast Suns take on Collingwood at Metricon Stadium in round 18. The paper said the NRL's decision was more disappointing given it had already scheduled a Titans match on the same day as the Suns' round 14 clash against the Western Bulldogs.

Midfielder Bernie Vince will return to Adelaide's side after a four-week absence this Sunday against the Brisbane Lions, provided he has recovered from a hamstring injury, The Advertiser reports. Vince was dropped after round five because of his poor work rate off the ball.   

AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan told The Mercury he would be "very surprised" if the Tasmanian Government did not commit to a deal for North Melbourne to play two home games a season at Bellerive Oval. But if it did not, McLachlan said there would be "no point" in trying to negotiate another deal to bring AFL football to Hobart.

Richmond small forward Jake King has commenced contract negotiations with Richmond, with The Age reporting the 27-year-old is seeking an extension until the end of 2013.

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