Record: 10-4 (third)

What's gone right: Look no further than "Dangerwood". The lethal one-two combination of Dangerfield and Joel Selwood in the Cats' midfield has been one of the highlights of the AFL season.

By playing alongside each other, the champion pair are successfully feeding off one another and have become the most devastating tandem act in the competition.

While it's easy to get swept up in Dangerfield fever, the Cats' other off-season trade targets Zac Smith and Lachie Henderson have also been valuable contributors. After playing 29 of a possible 66 matches in the previous three seasons, Smith hasn't missed a game this year in what has been his best campaign since his debut year with Gold Coast.

Daniel Menzel's first real crack since undergoing the first of four knee reconstructions in 2011 has been inspirational. The mercurial forward's immense talent has been on show for all to see and he has 19 goals from 11 games, including consecutive bags of four against North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

Geelong's ageing defensive unit – Corey Enright, Andrew Mackie, Harry Taylor and Tom Lonergan – have held their own. Big question marks surrounded the veterans' ability to have a meaningful impact heading into the season, but the quartet have gone a long way to dispelling those doubts. And another old-timer, Jimmy Bartel, has had an impressive season filling gaps where required.

While wins against Hawthorn, GWS, the Kangaroos, the Dogs and West Coast stamped Geelong's authority as a premiership contender, their dominant 26-point win over the Crows at Adelaide Oval was their best performance of the year in what was Dangerfield's return game against his old club.

What's gone wrong: Having beaten so many teams considered genuine chances for the flag this year, you'd think the Cats would be sitting on the top of the ladder. Unfortunately they have made a habit of losing "unloseable" games and have had to settle for third spot with nine rounds remaining.

The footy world looked on in disbelief as bottom-10 sides Carlton, Collingwood and St Kilda took on the premiership favourites and claimed the four points. It seems as though the Cats have an inability to mentally rise to the challenge of facing lesser opposition, which could be a problem in the run home to the finals given how many sides outside the top eight they will face.

If they're not careful, it could cost them a spot in the top four and a coveted double chance. Scott Selwood is yet to play a game since crossing from West Coast,  while Josh Caddy is set to miss a big chunk of games due to a knee injury. Mitch Clark and Nathan Vardy continue to be unsighted at the top level.

Standout star: Dangerfield could not have asked for a more perfect start to life as a Cat. The superstar midfielder made a statement of intent in his first outing in the famous blue-and-white hoops when he single-handedly took Hawthorn down on Easter Monday with an awe-inspiring 43-disposal performance.

He hasn't looked back and is firm favourite to win his first Brownlow Medal. The skill, burst of speed, appetite for the contest and all-round footy smarts he has displayed this season have been gobsmacking.

From 14 games, he is averaging 31 disposals (16 contested), seven clearances, five tackles and eight inside 50s. The 26-year-old former Crow has twice registered 40-plus disposals – against North Melbourne (48) and Hawthorn. He is ranked second in the competition for disposals, second for contested possessions, first for inside 50s and fourth for clearances. The footy world waits with bated breath to see how far he can take Geelong in the second half of the season.

Players under the pump: Clark is out of contract at the end of the year and has only managed eight senior appearances since joining the club at the end of 2014.

While he has battled persistent calf injuries he has also failed to fully overcome the mental demons that plagued him at Melbourne. Clark has returned to the VFL recently and could play his first 2016 game for the Cats in the coming weeks.

Vardy is also facing an uncertain future. Yet another injury, a foot ligament sprain, derailed the start of his season and he has only played one senior game before being dropped to the VFL. He has enormous talent but with just 25 games to his credit in seven seasons, the out-of-contract 25-year-old could be looking for another club at season's end.

In Vardy's favour, the club has shown enormous loyalty to his injury-ravaged teammate Daniel Menzel. Josh Cowan and Cameron Delaney also appear to have an uphill battle to remain on the list. George Horlin-Smith, Billie Smedts and Jed Bews are out of favour for a variety of reasons but are contracted beyond this season.

The run home: Looking at the Cats' lead-in to the finals, you'd say there are five guaranteed wins out of eight. But given their propensity for losing matches they're expected to win, that might not be the case. Geelong's run home is front-ended, with meetings against contenders Sydney, Adelaide and the Bulldogs in the next month set to provide the perfect finals tune-up. The fact that all three of those games are at Simonds Stadium will be a huge advantage. The Cats should have no problems in their other matches with Freo (away), Essendon, Richmond, Brisbane (away) and Melbourne, but history tells us there is at least one upset brewing in there somewhere.

Grading: B+