YOU COME for a glimpse of the future in February. And that is exactly what we got on Tuesday night at GMHBA Stadium when the Isaac Kako/ Nate Caddy Show turned up in Geelong, combining for seven entertaining goals in Essendon's AAMI Community Series 21-point win over the Cats.
After being selected with pick No.13 in last November's Telstra AFL Draft, Kako put the icing on the cake of an impressive maiden pre-season, kicking four clever goals – he should have had a fifth if not for Sam Draper in the dying seconds – from 14 disposals in the 17.2 (104) to 12.11 (83) win.
CATS v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats
The Next Generation Academy graduate kicked all four in different ways that will be worth spending the time watching on replay if you missed them live, not just booking his Opening Round spot against Gold Coast next Saturday, but cementing his status as a Rising Star contender in 2025.
Caddy spent the first quarter warming up around the boundary of the vacant Players Stand alongside Nick Bryan, before Brad Scott activated him at quarter-time and the former first-round pick showed the progress he has made this summer.
The 19-year-old quickly slotted two goals in the second quarter, then added another after half-time in an eye-catching performance from the young gun with the peroxide blond hair who should start the year as the key target in attack for the Bombers.
Reading too much into pre-season form is fraught with danger, but after losing six of their final seven games of 2024 to drift from inside the top four to finish 11th, the Bombers made a fast start down the highway on the back of a midfield domination by Zach Merrett, Jye Caldwell and Elijah Tsatas. They moved the ball quickly and slickly by hand between the arcs, registering 13 more handballs to kicks in a first term where Essendon's speed stood out.
After playing nine VFL games around his first AFL appearance of 2024, Dylan Shiel breathed life into his career in the final two months of last season. But after a full pre-season training across half-back, the soon-to-be 32-year-old has discovered a new lease on life in defence, collecting 25 disposals.
Former pick No.5 Tstatas amassed 31 disposals – equal most on the ground – 10 clearances and 15 contested possessions as he hunts his first senior appearance since round 14 last year.
GEELONG 2.3 8.4 10.7 12.11 (83)
ESSENDON 5.0 8.1 11.2 17.2 (104)
GOALS
Geelong: Cameron 2, Stengle 2, Neale 2, Henry, Dangerfield, Blicavs, Bowes, Miers, Clohesy
Essendon: Kako 4, Caddy 3, Martin 2, Perkins 2, Durham 2, Gresham 2, Bryan, Draper
BEST
Geelong: Miers, Cameron, J.Henry, Knevitt, Holmes, Bowes
Essendon: Kako, Tsatas, Shiel, Caddy, Jones, Merrett, McGrath
INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Essendon: Nil
Crowd: 11, 626 at GMHBA Stadium
