Chris Scott has never made any secret of his belief that recruiting Patrick Dangerfield in 2016 transformed the Cats.
On the field, he helped restore a superb team into being a great team once again, leading a new generation into a new way.
Joel Selwood, Chris Scott and Patrick Dangerfield after winning the 2022 premiershipCredit: Getty Images
Off the field, he set a tone that allowed the people within the club to be themselves. Surfing could be part of a player’s routine, or fishing, or herding cows. They could shrug after a loss, and laugh heading into a match.
A competitive beast, Dangerfield recognises that winning all the time is impossible, while still chasing a premiership as hard as the most steely eyed AFL players.
It opened the eyes of the skipper Joel Selwood – the then-Crow’s arrival helping him loosen up. The captain’s generosity was complemented by Dangerfield’s sense of fun and perspective.
“If the environment, mentally, was exhausting then you just couldn’t last. When you are on, you’re on, but you can actually go home and switch off and the sport doesn’t matter,” Dangerfield said.
Patrick Dangerfield with wife Mardi and daughters Felicity (five) and Winnifred (one) ahead of his 350th game on Friday. Credit: Joe Armao
Selwood and Dangerfield became great friends from the moment a quick cup of tea during the 2014 international rules series in Perth became a four-hour chat. They won a flag together.
Dangerfield won the Crows best and fairest in his final season and handled his departure with such class that he didn’t compromise his fierce loyalty to close friends and family – wife Mardi, and children George, Felicity and Winnifred – a character trait Geelong leaders say is underestimated.
He has friends across the game’s spectrum, from senior executives to teammates, opponents, fans, coaches and media, as well as outside the game in his community and beyond.
Some fans don’t warm to him, but that doesn’t worry him. He gets that he may not be everyone’s cup of tea. “He is his own man,” a former teammate said.
Those close to him are always surprised at his willingness to pick up the phone on the day of a big game, and amazed at his ability to compartmentalise each part of his life, dealing with CEOs, coaches, teammates, friends, managers, family, media and opponents with equal interest.
“He’s a great listener,” says one close associate.
He has been, and remains, a great player, too.
“From up close out on the ground, you’d think, ‘How did he do that?’ He would make a 30 per cent ball go his way. You would run a running pattern [knowing] that he was going to win it because you were confident that 30 per cent would be enough,” Selwood explained.
Dangerfield has achieved everything a footballer could dream about since he took the field as a junior in an Anglesea jumper his dad John wore with distinction. Dangerfield played alongside the now-lead singer of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Stuart Mackenzie, who happened to be the captain.
Over 18 years, it has made him the most influential player of his generation – a statesman of the game well before his career is over.
“He could play scrabble with his grandmother and talk to the AFL chair and be equally comfortable in either scenario,” said a person close to him.
Dangerfield can move between amusing himself with dad jokes and becoming serious as quickly as he can move from fighting for the ball on the ground to flying for a grab.
He can hit people between the eyes with truth bombs, and simultaneously display the sort of empathy only those on the receiving end can truly understand through actions he prefers stay private.
The Age spoke to six leaders in the game, who wanted to remain anonymous to speak freely about Dangerfield, who becomes the 25th player to reach 350 games, against Brisbane on Friday night.
OFF THE FIELD
The moment that transformed the 2016 CBA negotiations
Outgoing AFLPA CEO Paul Marsh remembers it as the moment he knew what sort of leader Dangerfield would be for the players.
Paul Marsh and Patrick Dangerfield always had each other’s back. Credit: Getty Images
The 25-year-old was on the PA board, having become a delegate in 2012 just before he turned 22. The players were pushing for a percentage of revenue and the Gillon McLachlan-led AFL was resisting. Talks had broken down when the players convened at Torquay and invited McLachlan down to speak. The CEO chose not to attend and Dangerfield – who had a strong relationship with McLachlan – decided to call him out, regardless of their connection.
“We were perhaps looking for a little bit more respect than we got,” Dangerfield said in a headline-grabbing media conference.
Talks resumed and few imagined they would have kick-started without Dangerfield’s intervention. He then became AFLPA president and had Marsh’s back every step of the way.
Hotline to headquarters
McLachlan does not grant respect easily to players or coaches. It’s hard-won, but he respected, and still respects, Dangerfield enormously for always being aware of the big-picture view and where the game might be heading in 10 or 15 years.
What was striking to AFL executives and members of the commission was how articulate and intelligent Dangerfield was for his age.
If he felt strongly about an issue, he could ring key people and make things happen. Further, he could make his point and then perform on the weekend for the Cats or Crows, or rehab from a hamstring injury. It was unique.
“He’s got a curious mind and is bright,” a senior executive said. “We see him play with courage and what you see is what you get. That translates to the way he deals with issues off the field, which is direct and full of integrity.”
Dangerfield stood up for the players
He became AFLPA president in 2018 before stepping down in 2025 after seven big years. He led the discussions through the turbulent, unpredictable COVID period and supported and explained the contentious move to a joint AFL-AFLW collective bargaining agreement.
“His ability to work hard for his peers is off the charts,” a senior official said.
Marsh, McLachlan, and Scott have always known that whatever position Dangerfield took on an issue, it was driven by what was best for the team or the competition.
Dangerfield and former AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan (right) had a strong relationship built on mutual respect.Credit: AAP
He advocated for the collective view, even if it did not reflect his personal view.
The fan in Dangerfield
“He understands it’s a game,” said a former key official.
No one has put the game in perspective like Dangerfield, who has consoled coaches and teammates after dramatic losses.
Dangerfield has always recognised the fans make the game great. Credit: Getty Images
Dangerfield draws boundaries. He does not say yes to everything, particularly as his family has grown to three children, and he admits being an elite athlete requires selfishness that is sometimes difficult to defend.
One of the joys of the milestone is that his children are conscious of what their dad is doing.
“That is the best part. Having kids and playing in front of them – now mine being at the age where they actually understand it and get what the whole thing is – is incredibly special,” Dangerfield said.
The fourth estate
The media respect Dangerfield. He makes himself available, can swing from cracking jokes to being statesmanlike, and although he is happy to challenge questioners he never belittles or dismisses them.
At a time when gatekeepers have made it harder to reach players, Dangerfield has proven an exception.
“He never ducks an issue,” a Dangerfield confidant said.
He doesn’t criticise media shy stars of his era, either. He just sticks to own philosophy.
“Everyone benefits from an authentic window into an athlete’s life as professional footballers,” Dangerfield said. “When I first started the ‘media street’ thing was still a thing, and it was self-promoting, and it’s just like, ‘No, it’s promotion of the game’. I don’t think the players should ever fear the media or fear being themselves.”
The modern club environment
Geelong’s environment is the envy of many clubs, with Dangerfield and Scott aligned on the need to switch on and off when required. They don’t rant and rave: Play hard, learn a lesson, and move forward.
“You don’t go into a Monday full of anxiety and dread walking in the door. I have never felt that, and that is such an important thing,” Dangerfield said.
Dangerfield also set the tone when he happily walked into the club earning no more than the skipper, allowing the club to continue a flat wage structure.
ON THE FIELD
The explosive goalkicker
Dangerfield’s best goals are on the run, when his explosion off the mark sparks a roar of expectation.
When the ball shoots off his boot like a cannonball, the atmosphere in the stadium shifts. Dangerfield knows it and laps it up. Sometimes he kicks a flat footy into no man’s land. Somehow, he grins in such moments.
This is the goal he remembers best.
“Josh Jenkins kicked across goal and it went straight off the inside of his boot, like I reckon it hit his heel before it hit his front toe. I kicked one from 55, and I was like that was pretty f—ing good.”
The raging midfield bull
Chris Scott compared Dangerfield’s bulldozing style to former New Zealand rugby union great Jonah Lomu.
Somehow, Dangerfield attacks contests and packs with such force and certainty he is surprised if he comes out of them sore. His ability to stand up in tackles to create an out-number for his team when he releases the ball is without peer.
As is his ability to go from knees to feet as though in a surf carnival. He doesn’t expect everyone to play in the same way. It’s just his style, born out of a philosophy passed on from his dad. “The harder you go, the less likely you are to get hurt.”
“When you bodyline the ball and you decide to go absolutely all-in, it is almost like … every part of your body, every muscle within it is preparing themselves for contact,” Dangerfield said.
“I didn’t expect [premiership teammate] Isaac Smith to attack the ball like I do, but he didn’t expect me to run like he did. Everyone brings something within a team environment.”
Fyfe v Dangerfield: The battle of the decade
This contest was the most high-profile one-on-one battle of the decade, in round 9, 2015. It was Jakovich-Carey, Vander Haar-Knights for midfielders. Fyfe collected 40 disposals and three Brownlow votes. Dangerfield had 38 touches and two Brownlow votes.
“I just love the game. I only want to play for as long as I feel like I can be bloody good at it and impact, and be better than most around me. I love that challenge – I love the contest in that sense. It’s bloody fun,” Dangerfield said.
Seizing the big moments
Don’t worry, Dangerfield feels what most of us feel. But his ability to shrug off mistakes is one of his greatest weapons, along with his ability to find something extra when his team needs him. As he matured he realised he did not have to do everything all at once, and became more poised in the big moments.
He has shown this as captain.
“I definitely get nervous. [There are] some games where you get a lot more nervous than others, and then there are some games where you just have the full flow … You think, ‘I am just going to play well today.’
“It’s just this feeling of confidence, and other times it is debilitating, the anxiety of performance. It’s like, ‘Where the hell has this come from? I haven’t felt this for six weeks,’” Dangerfield explained.
“I have never worried about making mistakes. I’ve made so many throughout my career on the field and I just move on. I think that is an important character trait to have if you want to be good, and you want to play for a long time, because the best players will have the ball in their hand for longer than others. I want to win every game, but I get you are not going to.”
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