Cats trio extend contracts

A TRIO of Cats will call Kardinia Park home until at least the end of the next AFL season.

Following its Round 1 win over St Kilda, Geelong announced one-year extensions for defenders Zach Guthrie and Oisin Mullin, keeping them at the club until the end of 2025, while second-year midfielder Jhye Clark extended his existing contract by a year, taking his time at the Cattery to at least the end of 2026.

Cats general manager Andrew Mackie said the decision to extend the three players made sense to the club.

Now an eighth-year player, Guthrie is a key cog in Chris Scott’s defence, playing every game for the Cats since Round 8, 2022, including in the Cats’ premiership-winning 2022 side.

The 25-year-old had a career-high fourth-place finish in the 2023 Carji Greeves Medal, after averaging a career-high 16.1 disposals, 5.6 marks and 2.2 spoils per game.

“Zach has developed into a very reliable defender for us. We love the way Zach goes about it and he is an exceptional teammate,” Mackie said.

Straight out of the Queenscliff Football Club/Geelong Falcons, Clark was selected eighth in the 2022 AFL National Draft.

“Jhye has shown exciting progression with his development in the pre-season after getting a taste of AFL football last year. He is a very talented player, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds,” Mackie said.

Mullin also impressed at the AFL level in 2023 after making the transition from Gaelic football, playing in six senior games in his debut season.

He joined the club in October 2022 and has shown blistering speed, power, and ability to run and carry out of defence.

“We acknowledge how courageous and brave the decision Oisin made to move to Australia, he has positively embedded himself into our football program and we are extremely happy with his development,” Mackie said.

Geelong are in Adelaide tonight (Friday, March 22) for its Round 2 clash with the Crows, and aim to go back-to-back in the first two games of the season.