Several late bloomers are flourishing after making an immediate impact with the team, who are one win away from a grand final appearance

There are AFL clubs that invest thousands of hours into reviewing high school talent, hoping they can recruit the kind of players who can some day kick three goals in a high-pressure final. The Geelong Cats just went to Werribee.

Shaun Mannagh, the 27-year-old rookie who was playing in the VFL last year, had 13 score involvements in addition to his three goals against Port Adelaide in the first week of the finals. The small forward is the Cats’ latest mature-age recruit to prove his worth on the biggest stage, after players including Tim Kelly, Tom Atkins and Tom Stewart, as well James Podsiadly before them.

The environment that everyone here has created, you can come in and flourish, no matter what age you are,” Mannagh says ahead of the preliminary final against Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday.

He cites the work of the Cats’ coach of 14 years, Chris Scott, the longtime official and now chief executive, Steve Hocking, and, in particular, the veteran recruitment manager, Stephen Wells, who has spent four decades at Kardinia Park. “He’s been the guy that’s got us older guys here,” Mannagh says. “It’s a pretty special place to be, to be fair.”

Before playing for Werribee in last year’s VFL grand final – where he won best on ground in a losing side – the high-octane forward had been on Richmond’s VFL list, and played in Darwin as well as in the Ovens & Murray League.

For years he would watch teenagers be given opportunities ahead of him as AFL clubs stuck to an orthodox approach of trying to develop high-upside young players into long-term contributors. “I do understand it from that point of view but I was also coming from my point of view, where I’m a mature-age person, I can come in and impact straight away.”

Mannagh credits his family and his wife, Sarah,for providing a stable environment that has enabled him to maintain a focus on footy long after others might have given up. “It obviously took a little bit longer than I would have liked, but now that I’m here I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

The midfielder Atkins is another player who was given an opportunity at AFL level in his 20s. He has won the Cats’ best clubman award the previous two years and believes the club is set up to make the most of late bloomers – especially those like him who played for the club’s VFL outfit.

“When I was in the VFL, I had access to coaches like [AFL assistant coach] Nigel Lappin, who was really influential in developing me,” he says. “If you’re on VFL list, and the AFL [team] needs some players for training, they’ll bring you in as well and you get to experience things like playing against Patty Dangerfield in stoppages, and as a 22-year-old, which was what I was, that sort of stuff is invaluable for your development.”

After playing two games early in the season, Mannagh spent much of the year out of the seniors but returned in round 17 and hasn’t missed a match since. He has kicked 12 goals in his past six appearances. “Now that I’m in the team, I feel like I’ve gained confidence every week,” he says.

The Cats have rediscovered their best after a mid-season slump, whhen they lost six in seven, as well as four games in a row for the first time under Scott. Their late-season momentum has coincided with the absence of their 36-year-old full forward, Tom Hawkins, who has been rehabbing a foot injury.The club’s games record holder returned to play in the VFL 10 days ago but despite his reputation there is no guarantee he will be recalled to the seniors. The forward Jeremy Cameron praised the effort of his longtime teammate to try to make it back, and says he wouldn’t want to be making the selection decision this week.

“He could just sail off, and he’s had an amazing career,” Cameron says. “It’s so touch and go with the timing of how his foot is healing and the timing of getting back, it’s a tight window, but he’s done everything he could possibly do.”

Twenty-two-year-old Shannon Neale has provided a more mobile tall option in Hawkins’ absence and, together with Mannagh, the Cats have taken on a new look compared with the version that won the 2022 flag. Cameron says the remodelled lineup has proven effective.

“We’ve got just a really good mix, there’s guys that aren’t talked about a hell of a lot, but inside [the club], they play a huge role for us,” he says. “It’s nice to be able to mix things up if things aren’t really working for us at any given time. We’ve got the licence to change it up and have a different look at it, and I think that’s key to the big moments and big games.”

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