What's in their favour? Where would you like to start? A perfect blend of strength, speed and skill, an evenness of ability across the lines that resulted in no fewer than nine Cats earning All-Australian selection last season in all parts of the ground, enough depth on the list to keep the selection pressure on the best 22 and, importantly, a list in its prime with just one player, Darren Milburn, older than 30. The Cats know that they have all the fundamentals in place to make last year's long-awaited success not just a one-off, but the beginning of a very fruitful era.
What's not? Not much to report here but hypotheticals. Will the reaching of the premiership goal diminish by an important few percentage points the individual appetites for more success? Will opponents' furious homework on the pre-eminent team find a previously hidden flaw? Will an injury curse strike and cut down the Cats' finest? The trading of Steven King and leave-of-absence granted Nathan Ablett leave one fewer options in the ruck and up forward, but the Cats have others.
Stepping into the spotlight? One obvious candidate here, the "Tomahawk''.Tom Hawkins had an instant impact as a key forward last year in nine games and, with Nathan Ablett gone, has a slot ready and waiting for his obvious talents. Travis Varcoe is a hard-working forward unlucky to miss out on grand final selection and has plenty of improvement to come. Smart midfielder Brent Prismall has the class to be a regular this season while Ryan Gamble and Jason Davenport could also squeeze into a midfield already loaded with talent.
In their wildest dreams? Geelong would be doing well indeed to reach the same level of dominance it found in 2007, but such was its supremacy over the rest of the competition that there seems plenty of margin for things to go wrong and the Cats still to prevail for a second successive season. The reality? No doubting that the Cats are as well if not better placed than any recent premier to make it back-to-back. There's no noticeable chink in the armoury and pre-season form hasn't shown any wilting of the fierce determination to succeed that marked their 2007.
ROBERT WALLS 1st The Cats took the game to a new level last season with their attacking, direct, fast play-on football. Their post-grand final attitude looks spot on and with confidence bolstered by a premiership in the bag, they will be hard to beat.
ROHAN CONNOLLY 1st No recent premier has been better placed to go back-to-back than the Cats of 2008. The losses are minimal, the depth enviable and the motivation to turn one great year into an era huge. Hard to see the boys from Skilled Stadium going soft again now.
