Welcome to the first edition of The Cattery Newsletter for 2007 and seventh overall, in this the fifth year of The Cattery's existence. The Cattery was formed in mid - 2002, around the time the sleeping giant that is the Geelong Football Club appeared to be awakening. We hope to serve you for many more seasons to come - thanks for your support so far, it's been quite a journey.

After what was frankly a shocker of a season in 2006, we all hope the Cats get on with it this season. In the words of former captain Steven King, if they don't, most at the club will "get the arse". King himself will miss the start of the season, suffering a calf strain during a practice match.

The pre-season was fairly promising with two wins, and a loss to the rising Brisbane Lions. Of course, last season showed pre-season form counts for naught once the real action begins. The Cats' Round One opponent is the Western Bulldogs, this Sunday at Telstra Dome, an away game. Geelong's first 'home' game is the following Saturday night against Carlton, again at Telstra Dome. The first real home game, at Skilled Stadium, isn't until round five against the nomadic Kangaroos.

Link: GFC 2007 Draw with TV details

Tom Harley took over from King during the pre season, but so far has struggled to actually make it onto the park. Harley is supported by Cameron Ling as Vice Captain, and the volatile but apparently changed man, Cameron Mooney as Deputy Vice Captain.

Mark Thompson will be under pressure pretty much all season, almost regardless of the on field results. Media commentators have him in the top few most likely coaches to be put on the bus before the season's out. Despite what was billed as a far reaching review by club CEO Brian Cook into 'all aspects' of the club, Thompson kept his job. His contract runs until the end of the season, and will be honoured.

The biggest change, however, was the appointment of Neil Balme as the General Manager of Football. Balme, who recently held the same position at Collingwood, replaced Garry Davidson at the start of November. Within weeks he had a crisis to deal with - recalcitrant forward Steve Johnson's latest brush with alcohol and the law.

This may well be the season Gary Ablett steps up into a genuine superstar - it's pretty clear he has the talent but needs the motivation to apply himself week in week out. Similiar to Daniel Wells at North. His younger brother, Nathan, is set to explode after finishing 2006 in a canter, including several strong performances in the VFL team's run to the grand final.

Joel Selwood, Geelong's first pick in the 2006 draft, is likely to make his debut this Sunday against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome. Selwood is the third brother from Bendigo to be drafted; twins Adam and Troy play at West Coast and Brisbane.

Nathan Djerrkura is one of the hottest prospects, both on and off the field. Son of the late Gatjil Djerrkura OAM, Djerrkura is an exciting midfielder / small forward originally from Gove (on the edge of Arnhem Land, NT) but spent the past two years at Melbourne's elite Scotch College. Nathan is almost certain to be a leader himself, be it in football or off the field - keep an eye on this one.

After several years of compound Membership growth, this year the talley's hit the staggers. The target this season is 32,291 - as of today we're still 7,854 short. If you haven't yet joined but want to, visit this link: http://gfc.com.au/Membership/tabid/4027/Default.aspx

In addition to reporting on the AFL side, we'll keep you posted on the VFL team, who of course were runners up last season. The Bendigo Bank Cats open their season with a Grand Final replay against last season's Premiers, Melbourne affiliate Sandringham.

This season I'm once again pleased to have the services of sports journalist Mark Heenan, who gets along to most Geelong press conferences. 2005 was a watershed season for Mark, who had dozens of articles published in print and online via AAP.

SEASON 2007

Enjoy the rest of the season. If you have any feedback, or want to unsubscribe, please pass them on to me at thecattery@keldar.net. We also welcome your contributions to The Cattery.

And remember, as Lance from Lara says: CARRRRN THE MIGHTTYYY CAAAATS!

BEN JENSEN

Proprietor - The Cattery

FOOTY TIPPING

This year's comp is free. The prizes are bragging rights alone, which as you'd be aware are priceless in this part of the world.

If you already have a footytips.com.au account you can simply joint this comp.

HOW TO JOIN

1. Visit http://www.footytips.com.au/cfm/ft/engine/joincompetition.cfm?competitionid=4548&Password=mightycat5
2. Fill in your details and register for your new account (or if you already have an account, enter your existing username and password).
3. Once you are registered with the competition, enter your tips.
4. Each week, (or any time for that matter) visit www.footytips.com.au to enter your tips.

If you already have an account, the details to join are below:

Comp Name: The Cattery Tipping Comp

Comp Password: mightycat5

GARY ABLETT VIDEO

LIKE MOST GEELONG FANS my favourite player of all time has to be Gary Ablett Senior. For a while now a 'video' has been floating around the Internet featuring highlights of Ablett's career up until 1993. Some 1.3GB in filesize and just under an hour long, the video starts with Ablett's six game, nine goal career with Hawthorn in 1982. You can also watch much smaller snippets of the video via the now ubiquitous Youtube.

Click the link below for several ways to view the video.

http://geelong.keldar.net/Articles/17032007_1.php

Do you run a small business, or wish you did? If the answer is yes and you're in the Geelong or Melbourne region, you should call Steve Jeffreys of First Class Accounts

As a First Class Accounts consultant, Steve is keen to see your business succeed. Steve comes to First Class Accounts with 12 years of business experience in the retail and hospitality industries gaining a strong finance grounding.

Steve understands the pressure that small business owners are under to sell their products and services, and still keep up to date with record keeping and government requirements.

With experience in both MYOB and QuickBooks, Steve will be able to explain your accounts to you in everyday language and help you interpret your results so you can make decisions to build a successful business. He is also proficient in Payroll having implemented and maintained systems for over 100 employees using Micropay. Additionally Steve is able to look after your BAS statements and GST and PAYG obligations.

Whether you need casual or permanent bookkeeping services, or perhaps training for you or your staff, Steve will be able to look after you in a friendly and professional manner that’s First Class.

Freecall: 1800 082 066
Email: sjeffreys@firstclassaccounts.com
Web: http://firstclassaccounts.com

Free Plugs:

http://www.zaidee.org - Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation, created in honour of Zaidee Turner who tragically died at the age of just 7 in 2004 from an aneurism, aims to make organ and tissue donation and awareness more prevalent in the community.

http://geelong.com - A good site with a news spider providing links to the latest articles on the mighty cats and Geelong in general.

To unsubscribe, please send an email with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject to thecattery@keldar.net