At Geelong, expectation is spelt A-b-l-e-t-t.
It’s been their dictionary entry for most of the last four decades, starting when Gary Ablett Snr became one of the AFL’s all-time greats.
Now Gary Jnr is back after seven years at Gold Coast and the return of the prodigal Cat will be one of the stories of the season.
If it all goes right, Ablett, captain Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield will form one of the greatest midfields in AFL history.
The Hawthorn premiership sides of 2013-15 batted deeper through the midfield and Geelong flag era of 2007-11 had more star power around the ground.
But on paper, this is the greatest concentration of elite onballers since Brisbane’s 2001-03 Fab Four of Voss, Black, Lappin and Akermanis.
Of course, that’s “on paper” for now.
How much longer can Selwood’s body keep up with his bash-and-crash mindset? Is Ablett’s pre-season hamstring injury a minor setback, or a 33-year-old’s “twang” that will echo through 2018? Then there’s the untimely hamstring strain Dangerfield suffered in the final round of pre-season action.
Nevertheless, it’s heady stuff and the Cats quickly realised it would be counter-productive trying to dampen the Ablett hype.
“If it’s possible to take my Geelong hat off for a second and remove myself from the intensity of the day-to-day … we all should be excited,” coach Chris Scott told AAP.
“We could be looking at three of the best players of a generation all playing together.
“One way for our club to try to approach it would be to try to manage expectations and play it down a little bit.
“But for the most part, we should be celebrating the fact that we have those three guys in the team.”
Scott also acknowledges that a gap remains between their stars plus “fourth Beatle” Mitch Duncan and the rest of the midfield rotation.
“It’s not unbridled optimism. We’re aware it may not be perfect,” he said.
“But that doesn’t temper the excitement too much.”
And Scott points out that Ablett’s return cost them little – if anything – in terms of longer-term player development.
Still, it takes more than three superstars to win a flag.
The last two AFL premiers are shining examples of the sum being greater than its parts.
The retirements of stalwarts Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan leaves the Cats looking more vulnerable in defence and it is unclear when fellow backman Lachie Henderson returns from his knee injury.
Nakia Cockatoo (hamstring) and Scott Selwood (ankle) are other best-22 players who are in doubt for round one.
The departures of Mackie and Lonergan mean the “Harry Taylor forward” experiment, such a talking point a year ago, is shelved for now.
“In part it’s often said of ruckmen and key defenders – you either have too many or not enough,” Scott said.
Ablett’s returns means they might not need left-field options in attack.
He and Dangerfield are nightmare match-ups when they go forward.
Also, how will Daniel Menzel respond after his contract issues late last year?
Scott reports that the talented goalsneak has enjoyed a strong pre-season, now his horror run of knee injuries are hopefully a bad memory.
A lot could go right for Geelong. And a lot could go wrong.
Their last two seasons have ended with similar finals series – qualifying final loss, stirring semi-final win and preliminary final thrashing.
But it’s hard to imagine that anyone would have beaten Adelaide in last year’s preliminary final.
The top of the Adelaide Oval grandstand literally was shaking, such was the crowd frenzy that Friday night.
When Geelong get it right, they’re as good as anyone.
Remember, they were the last team to beat Richmond in 2017 – a stirring round-21 performance when they were without Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins.
They could be heavyweights, but for their inconsistency.
With Ablett back, do they become consistently great?
GEELONG
Coach: Chris Scott
Captain: Joel Selwood
Last five years: 3-5-10-3-3
Premierships: 9 (1925, 1931, 1937, 1951-52, 1964, 2007, 2009, 2011).
Key five: Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett, Tom Hawkins, Harry Taylor.
One to watch: Tom Stewart. Had an outstanding debut season and finished fifth in the club best and fairest. Big shoes to fill, with fellow defenders Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan retired.
Ins: Gary Ablett (Gold Coast), Charlie Constable (Sandringham U18), Stewart Crameri (Western Bulldogs), Lachie Fogarty (Western U18), Tim Kelly (South Fremantle, WAFL), Gryan Miers (Geelong U18),
Outs: Josh Cowan (delisted), Darcy Lang (Carlton), Tom Lonergan (retired), Andrew Mackie (retired), Steven Motlop (Port Adelaide), Tom Ruggles (delisted)
Best line-up:
B: Jed Bews, Harry Taylor, Jake Kolodjashnij
HB: Zach Tuohy, Lachie Henderson, Tom Stewart
C: Mitch Duncan, Joel Selwood, Mark Blicavs
HF: Nakia Cockatoo, Stewart Crameri, Brandan Parfitt
F: Gary Ablett, Tom Hawkins, Daniel Menzel
R: Zac Smith, Patrick Dangerfield, Sam Menegola
I: Scott Selwood, Jordan Murdoch, Jackson Thurlow, Tim Kelly
Predicted finish: 2nd
Betting (William Hill)
To win the flag: $8.50
To make the top eight: $1.35