They're doing it again, aren't they? You know who I mean. Just rolling through the AFL season doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be. Always thereabouts.
We'll spend much of this season talking about others, newer, shinier, sexier models. But you can almost back it in that when we get to the really important stuff, we'll be talking about Geelong. Again.
Yes, it's only Round 7, but you can already see the usual pattern emerging.
Cats get clobbered in a difficult interstate assignment, raising the usual questions (see Gold Coast loss). Cats win tight jousts at home against worthy opponents (see narrow wins over Fremantle and Adelaide). Cats play lead role in an epic (see Easter Monday vs. Hawthorn). And of course, Cats flex muscles (see big wins over West Coast and Western Bulldogs).
Then there's the AFL premiership markets. As I write this, Geelong is only sixth in terms of flag favouritism, behind Brisbane, Sydney, Fremantle, Hawthorn and Gold Coast. But here is where the reliability factor weighs heaviest when it comes to this September perennial.
The Cats are paying $10 for the premiership. Sydney is paying $5.50, Freo and Hawthorn both $7, Gold Coast $9. But that's all things equal. And when it comes to winning Grand Finals on the MCG, they're just not.
Brisbane begs to differ on this. But boy, it took the Lions several years to get to the point where the MCG wasn't an intimidating venue for a big occasion. And the other non-Victorians in this list?
Sydney's recent grand final history speaks for itself. Freo is still getting its head around a new-found status as a "top team", has played only three finals in a decade, and has played at the G just seven times in the last three years.
Gold Coast? We're still to be absolutely convinced the Suns are a "ridgey-didge" top team. Yes, they smashed the Cats on their own deck, but would you really be tipping them in an MCG final if they drew Geelong? Not sure I would.
In terms of personnel, it's all ticking over nicely, as per usual. Jeremy Cameron's 10-goal haul against the Bulldogs was a timely reminder of the Cats' firepower, Shannon Neale, Oliver Henry, Ollie Dempsey, Jack Martin and Shaun Mannagh also capable of hitting the scoreboard hard.
Perhaps the most ominous addition to the mix is ruckman Mitch Edwards, who's looked good enough already, but has enormous scope for improvement. At his feet, Max Holmes and Bailey Smith provide an incredibly consistent 1-2 punch, and Tanner Bruhn will provide more support the longer this season runs.
What I'm noticing with Geelong, too, is that while Cameron is still capable of doing what he did against the Dogs, and Tom Stewart is as reliable as ever, it's many of the younger Cats who set and maintain the tone now.
They're quick learners, and, obviously assisted by playing alongside so much talent and experience, exert a more imposing presence than would their equivalents for experience at other clubs.
Mason Cox backs expanding 'Spud's Game' into a full designated mental health round.
You don't hear a lot about these guys, either, but in addition to already-established Dempsey, think of the continual improvement of Neale and the likes of Irish tagger Oisin Mullin or dashing defender Lawson Humphries.
Geelong's list demographics are in a pretty sweet spot. Yes, the Cats have still got nine players older than 30 on the books, but they'll have no less than 21 100-game players by the end of this season.
And the numbers so far in 2026 suggest there's still plenty of room for improvement yet.
Like scoring efficiency. Geelong is No. 5 for points scored right now, but a lowly 13th for scores from inside 50s, and a modest eighth for points from turnover. The Cats were ranked No. 1 in both those categories last year; recovering those ratings is merely about tweaks, not major overhauls. Watch the scores climb higher still if that happens.
They can get more solid defensively, too, a ranking of third for opposition scores per inside 50 last year having temporarily slumped to 11th now. And offensively, scores generated from the defensive half have also slipped from third to 14th.
In a nutshell, the Cats are playing a great territory game so far in 2026. It's transition and efficiency which still need some work. But again, they're not gaping voids in the armoury, more like grazes which can be readily overcome.
None of this is particularly eye-catching, of course. Which is why the football world continues to take Geelong's presence in the upper echelons as a given, sort of like death and taxes. All the while celebrating the exciting emergences of teams like Melbourne and North Melbourne, and pondering whether the likes of Freo or Gold Coast could actually win maiden premierships.
Just how Chris Scott and co. like it. No fuss. No hysteria. Just the Cats quietly banking wins, refining the system and waiting for the whips to start cracking.
By then, some of the newer contenders may have hit turbulence. Some of the shinier models may have lost a bit of their gloss. And this season in particular, given how the top of the ladder currently looks, some of those still learning what September really demands may have learned the hard way.
But Geelong already knows. Scott does. So do Patrick Dangerfield, Cameron and Stewart. And increasingly, so too do Holmes, Dempsey, Neale and the next batch coming through.
We're always searching for the next big thing in this game. But don't be surprised if the same old thing is still there when it matters most. Again.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at Footyology.
