Cats country roots on show against Bombers
May 10, 2017 - 7:47 AM It's not just livestock and produce that are grown in the country, it's Geelong footballers.The AFL's only regional club Geelong will do battle with Essendon in the second annual Country Festival match at the MCG on Saturday night.
Geelong chief executive Brian Cook asked club historian Col Hutchison to check just how many Cats players have country roots and was stunned by the outcome.
"I asked Col today to work out what percentage of our players since 1859 have come from regional areas and I couldn't believe the figure is that 85 per cent of our players are from regional areas of Australia," Cook said.
"In terms of country Victoria, we've had 800 representatives out of a total of 1066 players who have ever played senior football for us.
"It just shows you we really depend upon country talent for our survival, for our history and our three premierships over the last 10 and 15 years and it's something we're really proud of."
That decorated list includes current Cats stars Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Hawkins and former greats such as both Gary Abletts and Doug Wade.
A brainchild of former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, the pre-match entertainment in Yarra Park outside the MCG will feature country music singers Lee Kernaghan and Shannon Noll, wood-chopping and sheep shearing.
An interleague match between the Geelong Football League and Mornington Peninsula League will be the curtain-raiser.
Source: AAP
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