The unheralded Cat who has become an elite finals player

There is a largely unheralded Geelong player who is unassumingly building a very strong finals record.

Zach Guthrie is the player in question and what he has been able to do in big games has been recognised in the lead-up to this weekend’s Preliminary Final against Brisbane.

Champion Data’s numbers have Guthrie as the seventh best finals player across the last five years with the criteria being a minimum of five finals played in that timeframe.

The 26-year-old has been one of the highest rated Cats in recent finals and Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne highlighted what he has been able to do for Chris Scott’s side.

“Zach Guthrie is the seventh best finals player (over the last five years),” Hoyne said on SEN’s Sportsday.

“In his last five finals, there’s only been one final where he hasn’t been in Geelong’s top five rated players. So four of the five finals he’s been in the top five rated (Geelong) players.

“His influence against Port Adelaide week one, he was huge across the half-back flank.

“His finals series in 2022 was superb. In the Prelim against Brisbane and was superb in the Qualifying Final (against Collingwood).

“The only final where he’s not been a top five rated player for Geelong was Grand Final day (against Sydney in 2022) where he just wasn’t needed, the game was already over.”

Guthrie’s form as a key intercepting defender has allowed the Cats to free up Tom Stewart which has been a massive win-win.

It has been his intercept ability at ground level which has stood above all else.

“The reason why I want to throw it up there is it is a blessing in disguise. Sometimes you have injuries and it forces you to change the magnets,” Hoyne added.

“The Tom Stewart situation, he gets tagged heavily and that causes all sorts of carnage for what Geelong was going through in the middle part of the season, but they’ve been able to manoeuvre that around. You’re looking at that from an opposition perspective saying how do we work it out with Tom Stewart?

“This guy (Guthrie) at the moment is absolutely flying. Largely his intercept work goes unnoticed. We all appreciate the intercept markers, but on average there’s only about 13 intercept marks per game.

“Close to 50 intercepts per game are won on the deck. Zach Guthrie is the fourth best player in the game in that phase of footy - on the deck, winning it back.

“I don’t know if the attention is going into him, and you can understand why as Tom Stewart gets all the recognition. But for Chris Scott and the coaches, this Tom Stewart magnet is not that big of a headache anymore in terms of what the opposition is going to do to us.

“This guy (Guthrie) behind the ball is having influence. He just needs to be recognised for what he’s been able to do, and in big games as well.”

Guthrie starred in the crushing Qualifying Final win over Port Adelaide with 27 disposals, 11 intercepts, nine marks and six score involvements.

He and the Cats meet the Lions at the MCG on Saturday from 5:15pm as the club strives to quality for a third Grand Final in five years.