Geelong youngster Brad Close celebrates his first AFL goal in his senior debut last year against Fremantle. Photo: AFL MEDIA

Of all the teams in the AFL to try and break into as a youngster this year, Geelong would have to be one of the toughest.

Having just played in a grand final and then going out and recruiting Jeremy Cameron, Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith, the Cats are all in, with a premiership the only thing on their mind in 2021 after a decade full of near misses.

That fact will probably make things difficult for the less-experienced players on the list, but if opportunities arise, the following four players would want to make sure they’re prepared, because they might just get a decent go at it in the senior team.

And who knows? From there they could find themselves accepting a premiership medal on grand final day.

BRAD CLOSE

Taken in the 2020 rookie draft, the small forward looked impressive when he got his chances last year, and ended up playing eight matches in total.

He was dropped just before the finals, but averaged nine touches a game and three tackles, suggesting he had what it took to eventually become an effective pressure forward.

The 22-year-old has put on some size over the summer and looks stronger than he did 12 months ago in his first pre-season, and 2021 might just be the year where he establishes himself more in the side.

The fact that he was able to get a decent run for the Cats in a grand final year should also be used as an example for every other player on the outskirts of the best 22 that their time could come when they least expect it.

“He had a good pre-season, he had a little hiccup with a minor foot injury but he’s developed again and he’s got that thirst for work and working up and down the ground, putting on that elite pressure,” Geelong development coach Shaun Grigg told Footyology.

SAM DE KONING

The younger brother of Carlton’s Tom De Koning, Sam is a former first-round draft pick (No.19 overall) who is a good chance of making his senior debut this year.

Originally drafted as a key defender, De Koning has shown in the pre-season that not only can he help out in the ruck, but also is capable of drifting forward.

Since arriving at Geelong, he’s grown an extra two or three centimetres to now stand at an imposing 203 centimetres, and with the ruck department probably the most vulnerable part of Geelong’s line-up, given Rhys Stanley is their only established ruckman, opportunities may arise for De Koning this season.

“He reads the game well, he’s good in the air and very athletic,” Grigg said.

“He can jump off both legs and last year up in the hub when we played the scrimmage scratch matches, he played a bit of ruck time. Around the ground his follow-up work is good, he’s got good skills for his size, clean with the ball.

“He’s got the attributes and the capabilities to do so [play ruck], albeit we know he’s in his second year, he’s a developing tall player, so we understand he’s not going to be able to sit there and wrestle with Brodie Grundy for four quarters. We don’t expect him to win those battles, but develop his craft in the ruck.”

With Harry Taylor having retired last year and Lachie Henderson looking as though he might be playing his last year in 2021, such is De Koning’s versatility, he could also be used as part of Geelong’s transition strategy of key defenders.

“We know he’s got that weaponry, so learning closely with Harry Taylor and also Mark Blicavs as well, he’s done a lot of craft work with ‘Blitz’, and then he’s also still learning the craft against two gun key forwards in Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron,” Grigg said.

FRANCIS EVANS

Taken in the same draft as De Koning two years ago, 22 picks later at No.41, Evans has come from a long way back to push for some game time this season.

He didn’t experience the usual pathway to which draftees are generally accustomed as he only played a couple of games in the 2019 NAB League before injuring himself, and then that lack of game time was compounded by the cancellation of the 2020 VFL season.

However, he has really impressed the club over the summer and is doing everything in his power to make his debut and potentially enter the side as a small forward at some stage this year.

“What we’ve seen is he has got a really high work ethic and he wants to improve and train with ferocity,” Grigg said.

“He’s shown that he likes to eat up the hard work, and that’s in a lot of different areas … he’s got a real thirst for learning, probably because he missed out as your typical junior that gets drafted that are exposed to those things earlier.

“The thing that we’ve seen is his strength in a contest through his hips and core where, for a smallish forward, he’s a pretty good contested player who’s got a great goal sense as well. He’s a good finisher.

“What we’ve seen this pre-season and early match practice that we’ve had is he’s added that defensive side to his game.

“To be a valued team member in the Geelong AFL team and the Geelong forward line you’ve got to bring that defensive pressure … we saw him kicking his first goal of the game in the match practice against Collingwood where he ran down Darcy Moore and got a shot on goal for that.”

COOPER STEPHENS

Another untried youngster, Stephens was the Cats’ top pick in 2019 (No.16 overall) ahead of the likes of De Koning and Evans.

A promising midfielder, Stephens has also had a really good pre-season despite suffering a slight knee injury recently.

The good news is he’s getting back to full fitness with round one not far away, and he’s had some pretty handy mentors in Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield to learn off and fast-track his own development.

Like Evans, a lack of actual game time over the last couple of seasons will probably count against him in the first part of the season, but beyond that, he’s the kind of kid that could force the selectors’ hand at some stage.

“He’s got the real drive and the work ethic, the hard thing for Cooper is he broke his leg when he was 18 and missed a lot of footy and last year as well, we had the scratch matches, but they weren’t 18 v 18 typical matches,” Grigg said.

“We understand with Cooper he needs match time, and who knows? There’s no ceiling on where he could get to.”

Stephens’ biggest attributes are his competitiveness, his drive and his abilities as an inside midfielder, which include his clean hands and his impressive awareness around stoppages.

Above all else, Grigg believes spending a year in a hub in their first years in the AFL system will be hugely beneficial for Evans, De Koning and Stephens.

“Although it had its pros and cons, for those guys to spend their first year of AFL footy living with guys like Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie and Harry Taylor, it was so valuable for them to learn what it was like, how to eat like an AFL player, how to recover like an AFL player, how to prepare, how to train,” he said.