With Geelong humming along near the top of the scoring charts in 2025, club great Cameron Mooney believes their dynamic forward line is beginning to evoke memories of the Cats’ golden run from 2007 to 2009.
Spearheaded by Coleman Medal frontrunner Jeremy Cameron, and flanked by a rotating cast of dangerous smalls and versatile talls, the current crop has Mooney feeling a strong sense of déjà vu.
“They’ve just got so much goalkicking ability that it’s going to be a huge (factor),” Mooney told foxfooty.com.au. “We used to talk about when I was playing with Stevie Johnson and the likes — to have an enormous spread of goalkickers makes it so much harder for the defence to know where the ball’s going to go.”
Neale’s trajectory, Dangerfield’s revival
Among the many pieces of this potent puzzle is 22-year-old Shannon Neale, who has quietly taken big strides in his fifth season. Despite modest goal tallies, Mooney is convinced Neale is on the cusp of stardom.
“I’m a big rap for him,” Mooney said. “I think he’s going to be huge for the club for the next 10 years. Once he gets his 50, 60, 70 games, I think we’ll see a star.”
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The return of Patrick Dangerfield has also added a new dimension. Mooney believes the skipper’s role up forward has been a revelation, saying: “His ability to compete in the air, mark, and if he’s not marking it, bring it to ground and put enormous pressure on — I think has been a huge bonus for Geelong.”
But it all pivots around Cameron, who Mooney says has the smarts and freedom to dictate his involvement based on the flow of the match. “He knows what the game looks like,” Mooney explained. “If they’re dominating, he’s going to stay inside 50… if they’re struggling, he gets up the ground and becomes another midfielder.”
With the Cats gearing up for a crunch clash against Gold Coast, Mooney reckons this forward structure, just like in his premiership days, might be what carries them deep into September again.